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Author: Charmaine Cunningham

Enacted sense-making in a dynamic setting

I recently spoke about enacted sense-making in a dynamic setting at a noon seminar hosted by the University of Cape Town’s, School of Public Health.

July 31, 2025

Using SenseMaker to guide classroom conversations

I recently wrote a blog for the Cynefin company and thought I’d share it here as well. Click on the link below to read it.

March 10, 2025

Emergency Department sense-making series: how perceptions on information influence the actions taken.

Note This blog forms part of the sense-making in the Emergency Department series. If you are unfamiliar with sense-making and SenseMaker®, please read the previous

May 16, 2024

Collective sense-making in the Emergency Department. Results from a SenseMaker® study. Sense-making series 3

‘How do people in the ED figure out what’s happening?‘ ‘Do doctors and nurses hold the same views when making sense of challenging situations and

April 4, 2024

Making sense of event investigation by using the Cynefin framework.

Last week was our annual Executive Leadership Course in Global Surgery. We had anaesthetists, surgeons, nurses, and managers in the room. We designed the 5-day

March 4, 2024

How to improve sense-making in the Emergency Department (ED). Sense-making series 2

Today I am sharing my interpretation of a sensemaking study published in 2019. Prof Christianson has expertise in organisational behaviour, and the focus of her

February 21, 2024

Features of sense-making in the workplace. Sense-making series 1

‘How can I know what I think until I see what I say’ Weick (2005) Whenever I mention my interest in sensemaking, people nod their

February 7, 2024

Creating a new blogging habit

Getting back into blogging has been one of my goals for years, and it felt unattainable. I’ve been absorbed in being a full-time academic for

February 1, 2024

PhD reflection: getting it done

I (finally) submitted my PhD dissertation last week, after a rather arduous journey. Self-funding a PhD with no permanent income is hard enough. To complicate

April 24, 2019

Sense-making in Emergency Departments

Interruptions, incessant multi-tasking, mobile equipment thus continuous reconfiguration of the physical space, noise, people, flux…. How do people that work in emergency departments know what’s

November 4, 2018

Emergency care…just like reality tv, not aviation

To any observer, the Emergency Department (ED) appears chaotic. There is an endless in-flow of patients, all with different presentations, complaints and needs. Often the

April 3, 2018

Stories matter, we should tell our stories

Everyone has a story, every story is different. I am currently data collecting for my PhD and speaking to various role players in the Emergency

November 3, 2017

Returning to clinical work: the frustrations and opportunities for improvement

“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he

July 24, 2017

Nursing in Africa

In large parts of Africa, decades of war, conflict and instability have left its people with limited access to basic healthcare services. This is aggravated

June 13, 2017

The end of the short course route to become a SA paramedic

For years there have been rumors about the end of short course training for paramedics in South Africa. It became real on 27 January 2017

January 29, 2017

Firefighters, tacit knowledge and rapid decisions

For the past week, Cape Town firefighters have relentlessly been battling fires across the city and it appears that every hour on the news there

January 11, 2017

The garbage people: unintended consequences of change

With a capacity for 20 000 people, the cave church of St. Simon are said to be the largest Christian church in the Middle East.

November 21, 2016

Making sense…learning about sense-making

Remember the movie ‘Back to the future’ where Marty (Michael J. Fox) travels through time, whilst figuring out what is happening and how to influence

October 28, 2016

Emergency care in Africa: There is no free lunch…

Let hunger be ranked first because if you are hungry you cannot work! No, health is number one, because if you are ill you cannot

September 26, 2016

BADEM2016

Yesterday I had the privilege to participate in an emergency medicine symposium held by BadEM in Cape Town. Conferences, symposiums and workshops that attract big

September 11, 2016

Dr Charmaine Cunningham charmaine@cunningham.web.za