Margaret McAllister Margaret McAllister i(11180316 works by)
Gender: Female
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1 1 y separately published work icon Paradoxes in Nurses’ Identity, Culture and Image : The Shadow Side of Nursing Margaret McAllister , Donna Lee Brien , London : Routledge , 2020 20756037 2020 multi chapter work criticism

'This book examines some of the more disturbing representations of nurses in popular culture, to understand nursing’s complex identities, challenges and future directions.

'It critically analyses disquieting representations of nurses who don’t care, who kill, who inspire fear or who do not comply with laws and policies. Also addressed are stories about how power is used, as well as supernatural experiences in nursing. Using a series of examples taken from popular culture ranging from film, television and novels to memoirs and true crime podcasts, it interrogates the meaning of the shadow side of nursing and the underlying paradoxes that influence professional identity. Iconic nursing figures are still powerful today. Decades after they were first created, Ratched and Annie Wilkes continue to make readers and viewers shudder at the prospect of ever being ill. Modern storytelling modes are bringing to audiences the grim reality that some nurses are members of the working poor, like Cath Hardacre in Trust Me, and others can be dangerous con artists, like the nurse in Dirty John.

'This book is important reading for all those interested in understanding the links between nursing’s image and the profession’s potential as an agent for change.' (Publication summary)
1 Death, Nursing and Writing Ambiguous Characters Donna Lee Brien , Margaret McAllister , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , October no. 45 2017;

'When nurses are featured in narratives associated with death and dying, the common stereotype of the good nurse – of mother, or angel of mercy – is often invoked. Although such imaging can be flattering for nurses, whose work might otherwise go unnoticed and unappreciated, this representation is also unrealistic and dehumanising. Darker representations of nurses, and particularly the uncomfortable or profane aspects of nursing work, are not only rare outside of the horror genre, they have also largely escaped examination. Consequently, writers, as well as others including the public and those involved in the practice, teaching and scholarship of nursing, have a limited lexicon with which to describe that large part of nursing work which is situated in the realm of the abject, turbulent and traumatic. This article examines Franco’s film, Chronic (2015), which features a nurse who works in home-based palliative care, and whose character defies stereotypes. Analysing this richly drawn character and what this characterisation reveals about the world in which he operates, provides a case study of writing characters against powerful stereotypes and writing ambiguity.'  (Publication abstract)
1 Narratives of Mental Health Nursing in the Emergency Department Toby Price , Margaret McAllister , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , no. 38 2017; 'The telling, listening to, and re-telling of stories is a fundamental human activity. In the mental health context, storytelling can take on another layer of meaning, when clinicians begin to be more conscious of the stories they hear, recall these, and then re-tell them to their clients and carers. This process has many benefits. It helps to clarify communication between someone who may not be very trusting, with another who may not fully understand; and it can reconnect mental health clinicians with a deeply embedded cultural value that can be overwhelmed by the bio-medical approach – professional empathy. This article argues that the conscious use of re-storying, an aspect of Story Theory, can extend mental health nursing practice, deepening the quality of the interpersonal relationship so that the patient, family and nurse can mutually achieve greater understanding of needs and goals, and transform a crisis into a turning point. This suggests that stories shared, reflected upon and re-storied are not only relevant in creative practice terms, but can also contribute to health and wellbeing.' (Introduction)
1 Nurse as Wounded Healer in The English Patient Margaret McAllister , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , no. 38 2017; 'The English Patient, a novel by Michael Ondaatje (1993), is a romantic drama set in the chaos of Europe at the end of World War II. In the ruins of an Italian church, a terribly burned man is being tended to by Hana, a young nurse too traumatised from her own war experiences to return home. Ondaatje’s acclaimed novel contains rich imagery, complex characters and interactions, as well as a story that weaves back and forward in time. The novel is a writerly text; the meaning needs to be unravelled by the reader and, due to this feature, it also makes for interesting reading about nursing. Too often texts about nursing are reductionist and stereotyped – nurse characters are often angels or lovers, sometimes villains and sleuths. Rarely are they portrayed as a wounded healer – an ancient, intriguing and illuminating myth. Within this paper, Hana’s struggles are read as a metaphor for those that similarly confront many nurses. She is a vulnerable young person thrust, because of the nature of her work, into the harsh realities of adulthood. She aspires to a kind of nursing that is attendant and gentle, and able to meet all of her patient’s needs. Yet the world she is forced to work in is chaotic, unpredictable and stripped of resources. The patient she tries to comfort is moribund and he endures agony and loss. In her interactions with him she learns about love, beauty, humility and, ultimately, resilience. In this way the written, literary narrative connects to a cultural narrative that at once embodies a profession’s struggles and illuminates more general transcendence.' (Introduction)
1 Introduction Margaret McAllister , Donna Lee Brien , Leanne Dodd , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , no. 38 2017; 'The health disciplines, such as medicine, nursing and midwifery, and the disciplines of creative arts, humanities and human services are often understood as diametrically different but, despite their disparities, have much in common. One commonality is that many researchers and practitioners in each of these disciplines (and their various associated fields) are working to explore the possibilities of individuals, as well as the human condition and humanity more generally. Yet, the increasingly corporatised, managerially-driven, competitive, and economically and vocationally-focused imperatives driving the modern academy restrict opportunities for these diverse disciplines to intersect, communicate and work together on shared interests. This is especially ironic given the regular lip service paid to multi-, inter- and even transdisciplinary research, and the evidence that approaches outside of a single discipline are needed to fruitfully approach and solve complex problems (Brooks and Thistlethwaite 2012), including those in the creative or social realm (Brien and McAllister 2016).' (Introduction)
1 y separately published work icon TEXT Special Issue Website Series Illumination through Narrative: Using Writing to Explore Hidden Life Experience no. 38 Donna Lee Brien (editor), Leanne Dodd (editor), Margaret McAllister (editor), 2017 11180183 2017 periodical issue
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