Validating moving on: reflections of women nurse academics experiences with violence and subsequent healing

This article discusses a research study entitled ‘an investigation of the lived experiences of women nurse academics’ professional development in universities’. The study was conducted in the USA in 1997 and completed in Australia. The aim of the research was to reveal and cross culturally contextualise the professional development of women nurse academics within universities. The research methods utilised were qualitative in nature, and were located in a feminist post-modern theoretical framework. The methods used were participant observation, interviewing and reflective journaling. Thirty-six women have participated in the study at the time of writing, with 10 from the USA and 26 from Australia. The data was analysed, using a feminist postmodern theoretical approach. In relation to the US data on which this article is based, the results clearly indicated that the participants have experienced professional jealousy, horizontal and opaque violence over an extended time period. In particular, this was apparent in areas such as academic progression, teaching, research, and day to day experiences of working in academia. Consequently each participant identified conscious strategies to prevent re-occurring distress which resulted in their working well in universities. This research is evidence that strategies practised in academic disciplines by women will provide all working women with a vision to move forward in the commitment to the importance of wellbeing for all women.