Studying Medicine with Dyslexia: A Collaborative Autoethnography

Authors

Sebastian C.K. Shaw, Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolFollow
John L. Anderson, Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolFollow
Alec J. Grant, University of BrightonFollow

Abstract

The topic of this article is the experience of the impact of dyslexia on medical studies, explored using a collaborative autoethnographic methodological approach. The study was prompted by an initial and ongoing full search of the literature, which revealed an absence of autoethnographic research into the experiences of medical students with dyslexia. It has four aims: to provide an in-depth, multi-layered account of the impact of dyslexia on a UK undergraduate medical student; to help other students and academic support staff in similar situations; to outline improvements that could be made to medical and other educational curricula and examination procedures, globally; finally, to call for further qualitative research to test out, possibly enhance, and qualify the cultural transferability of our study.

Keywords

Dyslexia, Medical Students, Collaborative Autoethnography, Undergraduate Medical Education, Medical Curriculum

Author Bio(s)

Sebastian C. K. Shaw is a final year medical student at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. He has an MSc in Medical Education, and as a result of this regularly teaches within both Postgraduate and Undergraduate Medicine – primarily in research methods and “dyslexia in medical education.” He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Member of the Academy of Medical Educators. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Sebastian Shaw, Division of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Mayfield House, University of Brighton, Falmer, BN1 9PH, UK. Email: S.Shaw1@uni.bsms.ac.uk.

John L. Anderson is a medical sociologist. His career has mainly been in teaching and research in medical schools. He is a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and is currently a Principal Lecturer in Postgraduate Medicine, within the Division of Medical Education at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: John L. Anderson, Division of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Mayfield House, University of Brighton, Falmer, BN1 9PH, UK. Email: J.Anderson@bsms.ac.uk.

Alec J. Grant, PhD is Reader in Narrative Mental Health in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Brighton, UK. He is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and contributes to narrative social and human science as a qualitative researcher, supervisor, mentor and educator, using dialogical narrative methodologies, including autoethnography. His published qualitative research is underpinned by critical reflexivity in the service of human emancipation and social justice. In this context, he also challenges established onto epistemological assumptions, orthodoxies and related representational practices, around what can and should be known, and how it is known. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: Dr Alec J. Grant, School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Robert Dodd Building (RD105), 49 Darley Road, Eastbourne BN20 7UR, UK; E-mail: A.Grant@brighton.ac.uk.

Publication Date

11-4-2016

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2570

Recommended APA Citation

Shaw, S. C., Anderson, J. L., & Grant, A. J. (2016). Studying Medicine with Dyslexia: A Collaborative Autoethnography. The Qualitative Report, 21(11), 2036-2054. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2570