Insert 1

In one important study, White and Featherstone (2005) analysed inter-professional working in an integrated child health service. They adopted an intensive ethnographic case design. Their main findings were that each profession has its own dominant narratives and the performance of professional identities has a profoundly moral dimension. ‘Failures’ of inter-professional communication occur as professionals are not used to letting go of their own professional habits to understand the workings of other professions. The challenge for professionals is to create conditions in which everyday practices are open to challenge and scrutiny. This may involve people doing extended stints of observation in other settings as part of their ongoing professional development. Learning to listen, to communicate, and to understand has to be a lifelong process, not a one-off training event.