Between Musings

It has been several days—almost a week—since I last managed to weave my thoughts together into a musing. Something specific happened last week that had me reflecting and eager to write, but I became unwell and needed to prioritise my energy for my clinical work.

I worry that the longer I leave it, the less I will be able to capture the intensity of the realisation. However, I do not feel I have the energy to give the topic the attention it deserves. Thus, I am choosing to park it for a little bit longer and instead focus on what I did manage to accomplish whilst seemingly doing nothing.

The highlight (and I use the term very loosely) of the past week was attending a Confirmation Event. I have attended several of these over the past year, but this was my first time attending since officially beginning my own doctoral journey. Previously, I attended out of curiosity and often out of a genuine interest in the topic being discussed. This time, I attended through the lens of a student preparing for her own Confirmation Event in the not-too-distant future. (Well, it is still 12–18 months away, but time seems to move at a rapid pace when deadlines are approaching.)

So I thought it might be helpful for future me to write down some observations from this particular presentation, particularly in comparison to one I attended earlier in the year.

1. Presentation slides need to be visually cohesive and engaging.
2. Balance informative content without overwhelming the audience.
3. Write a script for the presentation and practise reading it aloud.
4. Share an interesting story to capture the audience’s attention.
5. Know your topic really well (after all, you have just spent a year of your life researching it).
6. Know your proposed research methodology really well.
7. Be prepared to explain your chosen approaches, theories, and methodologies.
8. Be prepared to answer questions about things you have not yet considered.

I wonder whether it would be entirely appropriate to say, “That is an interesting question and something I had not yet considered.” I often have to think on my feet when working with clients. I am confident that, as long as I know my topic, theories, and methodologies well, I will be able to answer any question posed. However, it is also true that, at this stage of the doctoral journey, I am not yet expected to have all the answers.

Surely.

I must say, I am not looking forward to having to defend autoethnography as a valid methodology for doctoral-level research. Fortunately, one of my supervisors has lived experience of having to do just this, so I will be leaning into her guidance to help keep the imposter syndrome at bay.

Perhaps the work has continued after all—just not in the way I had expected.