Writing about one’s experiences systematically and reflecting on them within the broader context of a particular culture is gaining popularity as a legitimate research method in health and social science research (Chang, 2016). This relatively new and controversial method of scientific writing is called autoethnography. Autoethnography is a research and writing method that systematically analyses personal experiences to understand cultural contexts (Ellis et al., 2011). Autoethnography is different because it embraces and foregrounds the researcher’s subjectivity rather than attempting to constrain it, as in many traditional methods (Tarisayi, 2023).   Autoethnography writers situate themselves at the intersection of autobiography and ethnography (Adams et al., 2017; Ellis et al., 2011). Therefore, autoethnography aims to give readers a sense of what it feels like to exist within a particular sociocultural landscape  (Adams et al., 2017).  Given the focus on self-experience, autoethnographers can write about situations that cannot be expressed and disclosed using other traditional research methods (Adams et al., 2017).

This writing emphasises the significance of autoethnography in nursing research, highlighting its potential to increase self-awareness, promote empathy, and contribute to a broader understanding of the nursing profession. For nurse professionals, it is crucial to understand the patient’s experiences, and autoethnography is a valuable technique for promoting empathy. By engaging with their own stories, nurses can understand the vulnerabilities of being a patient (Allan, 2023; Ricker, 2020). This empathetic connection can lead to more compassionate and patient-centred care as healthcare providers gain insight into the emotional and psychological aspects of illness and treatment. For example, Allan (2023) published an article in which she used the autoethnography approach to share her experiences as a patient with COVID-19 infection and respiratory failure. She revealed the extent of her anxiety when she was left alone in a closed room and explained how the nurses were unaware of the feeling of breathlessness. She also explained how avoidance and anxiety made her scared of death and how expressions of sympathy by the nurses offered her comfort and hope (Allan, 2023) . Similarly, Frances M. Ricker (2020), a registered nurse, shared her story about living with a chronic undiagnosed illness, which was later diagnosed as myasthenia gravis. During the discussion, she shed light on the challenges of living with an undiagnosed illness. Through her personal experiences, she attempted to bridge the scientific gap in knowledge related to the experiences of patients living with an undiagnosed illness (Ricker, 2020) .  

Autoethnography also has the potential to bring a revolutionary change in nursing by providing nurses with a platform to express themselves in a unique way (Peterson, 2015). This form of scientific writing empowers nurses to speak up and challenge the existing representation of their profession. This can encourage nurses to take active steps towards social justice (Holman Jones et al., 2013) and share their experiences, which may have been inaccessible due to different reasons (Liggins et al., 2013). For example, conventional research methods can provide superficial information on nurses’ satisfaction and burnout rates and explain the consequences of these issues on healthcare system efficiency, such as workload, patient hospital stays, and record accuracy (Fan & Koski, 2022). However, no one can truly understand and describe the details of physical and psychological dilemmas that nurses experience in the hospital environment due to excessive workload and low pay, which barely cover daily expenses. The real struggles that millions of nurses face across different working environments before they decide to quit their jobs can only be revealed if nurses themselves have the bravery to write scientific research about what it is like behind closed doors when they are drained from meeting the needs of vulnerable patients and ever demanding healthcare system while receiving insufficient compensation.

The emergence of autoethnography and narratives of the self as proper research has not been without criticism (Edwards, 2021). The main reason for criticism lies in the heavy emphasis on the self, where individual experiences make narrative attempts to reflect certain hidden cultural practices, values and norms (Walford, 2021). Another criticism is the extent to which autoethnographic writing can genuinely represent an existing reality. As Geoffrey Walford states, ‘If people want to write fiction, they have every right to do so, but not every right to call it research’ (Walford, 2004). However, according to many scholars, autoethnography is an exciting research method that provides a way to do something meaningful for oneself and the world (Adams et al., 2017; Ellis et al., 2011; Tarisayi, 2023).

Desale Tewelde

University of Turku, Department of Nursing Science

The author is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, and holds a double master’s degree in anaesthesia as well as emergency and critical care nursing. His research interests include health technology, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and pain.

References

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