“Sensory Ordering” in Nurses' Clinical Decision-Making: Making Visible Senses, Sensing, and “Sensory Work” in the Hospital

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present a study on the constitutive role of senses in clinical decision-making. The methodology is based on a series of focus groups with nurses in various hospital departments. Based on a narrative approach, our study examines “sensory work” in clinical decision-making in order to reveal its specificity in the clinical work of nurses. Nurses shared stories—in focus groups—about the influence of senses in clinical decision-making. The analysis of clinical narratives helped to identify various situations revealing the “sensory work” that underlines clinical decision-making. We put the emphasis on the spectrum of sensory activities and the interactions occurring during a clinical decision-making. One specific contribution of our study is to make visible the “sensory ordering” at work as constituted by interactions between nurses during a clinical assessment.