Naturalism, Quietism, and the Threat to Philosophy

<P>Two opposed movements of thought threaten philosophy as an autonomous practice from the inside: scientific naturalism and quietism. Naturalism (qua methodological thesis) threatens to turn philosophy into a mere <I>ancilla </I>of the sciences, quietism understood as the prescription to remain silent in philosophy would not countenance any more “positive” philosophy. This book reconstructs naturalism and quietism such that it becomes clear naturalism does have the potential to end philosophy as an autonomous practice and that quietism, correctly understood, does not. To this end, this book provides arguments against the prevailing orthodox status of naturalism and a heterogenous reading of Wittgenstein’s metaphilosophical quietism as the rejection of a certain kind of theories in philosophy, namely quasi-scientific theories.</P>

Fairy tale midwifery ten years on: facilitating the transition to newly qualified midwife

The first article in this series, published in the British Journal of Midwifery, volume 27, number 10, identified that newly qualified midwives continue to experience reality shock on initiation of first post, despite preceptorship programmes that aim to ease transition from student to qualified practitioner. Mentors are important in facilitating student decision-making, criticality and reflective practice, and share such roles as teaching, support and role modelling with preceptors. Although transition begins at the inception of midwifery training, there is a paucity of research exploring the role of mentors in preparing students for autonomous practice. The recent shift to replace mentors with practice supervisors and assessors provides an opportunity to consider strategies to better prepare student midwives for autonomous practice and mitigate against fairy tale midwifery.

Prescribing: an onerous responsibility?

There is no question that becoming a prescriber is liberating and ensures autonomous practice as well as a sense of professional pride in managing complete episodes of patient care. The decision to become a prescriber can be voluntary or an expectation of developing roles and service delivery. Either way, it is an onerous undertaking. The purpose of this article is to explore the responsibility of becoming a prescriber from the perspective of three prescribers looking at the academic expectations as well as the experiences faced by new prescribers over the first 12 months of prescribing.

Autonomy for obstetric nurse on low-risk childbirth care

Objectives: to understand the cultural context presented in hospitals and its relation to the obstetric nurse's autonomous practice on low-risk childbirth care. Methods: ethnographic research performed in three public maternities in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Three managers and twenty-three obstetric nurses participated in this research. Results: distinctive on cultural, organizational and structural aspects of the hospital institution interfering directly with the obstetric nurse's autonomous practice. Among these aspects, professional appreciation on low-risk childbirth care contributes for the nurse's autonomy Conclusions: it was noticed that obstetric nurses undergo different contexts of action, which directly interfere with their autonomy on low-risk childbirth care and their decisionmaking abilities. It is necessary, then, to eradicate the relation of dominance and submission that it is still imposed by medical hegemony.