Interpretive Autoethnography in Medicine: An Accessible Way to Introduce Healthcare Professionals to the Craft of Critical Qualitative Writing

Abstract

Qualitative research is valuable in medicine because of the deep insights it offers into the social and cultural dimensions of healthcare. Historically, qualitative methods have been influenced by critical theory and have shared its constructivist epistemology and orientation towards social justice. It can be challenging to teach such critical qualitative inquiry to healthcare professionals because its underlying philosophy can seem at odds with the objectivist biological perspective emphasized in medical education. This is unfortunate because several social inequities are perpetuated by modern healthcare systems and critical qualitative inquiry is essential to the project of addressing them. This article argues that Norman Denzin’s interpretive autoethnography is a promising method through which educators could introduce healthcare professionals to critical qualitative inquiry. In this method, the author uses the craft of writing creatively about their personal experiences as a tool for cultural interpretation and social justice activism. Such a creative analytic practice might seem alien to many medical professionals. On the other hand, the idea of analyzing their own experiences in detail is likely to feel familiar to them because of the prominence of reflective writing in healthcare professional development practice. This familiarity might make interpretive autoethnography accessible to healthcare professionals and practicing the method could help them to appreciate the value of interpretive writing as a way of investigating sociocultural meaning and promoting just change.