Autoethnography and reflective practice: reconstructing the doctoral thesis experience

Abstract

In this paper I reflect on my doctoral thesis experience, writing over a year after completion of my studies. After giving background about my own professional context as a medical educator I briefly present the key findings of my doctoral thesis. I then move on to construct a chronology of the key events in the time after completing my thesis and reflect upon these events to explore questions about the following: whether my thesis was a piece of autoethnography; the relationship between autoethnography and reflective practice; and the implications of these deliberations upon my work as an educator and educational researcher. I close by presenting some conclusions about interview approaches in educational research, the power of institutions in shaping research outcomes and the value and place of narrative in academic writing.