Illumination through narrative: using writing to explore hidden life experience

The health disciplines, such as medicine, nursing and midwifery, and the disciplines of creative arts, humanities and human services are often understood as diametrically different but, despite their disparities, have much in common. One commonality is that many researchers and practitioners in each of these disciplines (and their various associated fields) are working to explore the possibilities of individuals, as well as the human condition and humanity more generally. Yet, the increasingly corporatised, managerially-driven, competitive, and economically and vocationally-focused imperatives driving the modern academy restrict opportunities for these diverse disciplines to intersect, communicate and work together on shared interests. This is especially ironic given the regular lip service paid to multi-, inter- and even transdisciplinary research, and the evidence that approaches outside of a single discipline are needed to fruitfully approach and solve complex problems (Brooks and Thistlethwaite 2012), including those in the creative or social realm (Brien and McAllister 2016).