Debating or doing : mutally exclusive or complimentary companions?

I attended a conference presentation last year where it was suggested that the time had come to ‘move beyond the debate’, and essentially to become more oriented towards action than to discussing what might be the most appropriate or ideal course of action to take. With all due respect to the presenters, I found this suggestion disturbing on a number of levels. Firstly, I believe that debate is an essential ingredient for any profession. Without consideration of a ‘better way’, and the discussion that flows from this, mental health nursing runs the risk of becoming static and focused on ‘doing’ at the expense of thinking and reflecting on a better way that things could be done to improve outcomes for the consumers of mental health services.