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Published on: September 27, 2020
Exploring the personal tutor-student relationship: an autoethnographic approach.
1School of Health Studies, Swansea University, Swansea, UK. l.d.gardner@swan.ac.uk
This autoethnography explores the personal tutor/student relationship, highlighting its relevance to nurse and service-user interactions. The study suggests personal tutoring can be a valuable teaching technique in mental health nursing education.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Nursing
- Sociology
Background:
- Personal tutoring relationships offer unique insights into professional development.
- The dynamic between tutor and student can extend beyond academic contexts.
- Autoethnography provides a reflexive methodology for exploring interpersonal dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the multifaceted aspects of a personal tutor/student relationship.
- To examine the wider relevance of these dynamics to nurse and service-user encounters.
- To propose personal tutoring as a valuable teaching technique in mental health nurse education.
Main Methods:
- Autoethnography was employed to narrate the personal tutor/student experience.
- The narrative was analyzed using concepts such as boundaries, learning, supervision, and therapy.
- The study draws parallels between the tutor/student relationship and nurse/service-user interactions.
Main Results:
- The personal tutoring relationship evolved organically, leading to a co-authored autoethnography.
- Key concepts like boundaries, learning, supervision, and therapy shaped the understanding of the relationship.
- The explored dynamics demonstrated relevance to nurse and service-user encounters.
Conclusions:
- Personal tutoring, when explored through autoethnography, offers a unique pedagogical approach.
- The findings suggest that the principles of personal tutoring can enhance nurse education and improve service-user engagement.
- This approach can foster deeper understanding and more effective therapeutic relationships in mental health nursing.
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