When reflecting on my professional journey I often ask myself how did I get where I am today? The thing is your personal story has great resonance for you as a professional; this is an insight into my doctoral journey.
I have worked in palliative care for many years, firstly as a Macmillan Nurse in the acute sector, and then at Northumbria University teaching palliative care. Commencing a professional doctorate I had a stuttering start, but eventually arrived at where I am now with my research which is a study using Foucauldian discourse analysis. My research explores the influence and impact of emerging, competing and overlapping discourses on practice in end of life care, and provides insight into the discursive tendencies impacting on end of life care practice in the hospital setting.
Recent years have seen unprecedented media interest in end of life care, and the emergence of powerful discourses that influence health care professionals delivering care. My research focusses on the tensions, challenges and possibilities that emerge from this intersection.
As I commenced my professional doctorate the media frenzy related to end of life care and the Liverpool Care Pathway developed, and I found myself at the cutting edge of end of life care. It is fair to say that I was taken aback by some the media outputs.
I undertook an analysis of artefacts from journalistic press not tabloids (although this did include the Daily Mail!) and terrestrial television (factual outputs). Initially this was to be over a period of six months, but this was extended due to the profile of end of life care at the time. In addition tape-recorded narratives were taken from four consultants and six clinical nurse specialists working in palliative care, and a cancer centre. Participants recorded the narratives over a two-week period.
The media artefacts and narratives have reaffirmed the metaphorical language utilised when discussing end of life care, and highlighted the impact that the sensationalisation of end of life care has on practice, instilling a moral panic that both disables and fuels the need for change. Prominent discursive formations have emerged related to the power of representation and the impact on practice when caring for people at the end of life.
Back to my personal story which is inextricably linked with the research journey, having life happen throughout this research has no doubt enriched my understanding, but holding a very old man’s hand when he thinks he is going to be killed because he is so ill makes the impact discussed above so real especially when that very old man is your father.
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Photograph (5138623107_b05613223b_o) by More Good Foundation via Flickr.com © 2009: https://www.flickr.com/photos/moregoodfoundation/5138623107
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