Action research requires a cyclical approach, returning to check theory and interventions against the delivery of patient care and patient satisfaction. This helps to develop a new cycle of enquiry to refine further nursing practice. The psychosexual seminar group captures the essence of the enhancement approach in the development of psychosexual nursing skills. These experienced, practical nurses reported feeling inadequate when presented with the frequent nursing situations during which patients revealed sexual difficulty. They were eager for a forum through which they could gain support and extend knowledge to develop appropriate care for patients in sexual distress.
Nurses attending the group bring a mix of feelings.
I just feel dead from the waist down'. In the clinical area, the practical solution to these problems is for nurses to defend their own vulnerability by erecting barriers. They argue that sex has nothing to do with pregnancy, delivery, family planning, genito-urinary problems and changing body image. There is less discomfort in diverting patients from the subject by offering reassurance, cracking a joke, by pretending not to have heard. If patients try to tell nurses of their anxieties and are not valued in their telling, they may be left feeling exposed, misunderstood, betrayed, angry and embarrassed.