PhD mobility and Maintaining my own Wellness: Reflections from a Canadian nurse researcher living in the Netherlands, studying in Finland

I am a Canadian, after studying and practicing nursing for almost a decade on the southwest coast of Canada I decided to begin graduate studies in nursing science abroad. I have been living in Europe for two years, and what I know now I could never have achieved without mobility in studies.

I need to back-up and describe a concept to guide this reflection of my experiences so far with mobility during PhD studies. Aaron Antonovsky, was a sociologist and he developed the concept of a Sense of Coherence (SOC) (Schnyder et al., 2000). The concept helps describe the location someone is on the continuum between ‘ease’ and ‘dis-ease’, and focuses on factors related to maintenance of health and wellbeing. This concept incorporates three attributes; Comprehensibility, Manageability, and Meaningfulness. As graduate students we fit somewhere on this continuum because of institutional, social, physical, and other personal factors. I would like to describe what it means for me to be on this continuum as a PhD student from the perspective of mobility in graduate studies. Using ‘Comprehensibility’ and ‘Meaningfulness’ as guiding concepts I will ask two important questions for a reflection of my experience.

Comprehensibility, do I understand and have confidence in what is happening during my PhD study?

My PhD study’s central focus has been on international collaboration. Therefore, I answer the question by asking specifically, do I understand my international collaborations? At the beginning of my study I did not have a good understanding of all components of my international collaborations. My PhD plan was revolving around a collaboration in a country other than that of my University enrollment (The University of Turku) and although I understood the collaboration from a practical sense I had not asked myself critical questions about the nature of this collaboration. For example, could I have confidence that the contribution I made to this collaboration would benefit my academic and scholarly development. I decided to ask this question a little later than I think I should have, however once I did ask this question I pinpointed a source of my discomfort and feelings of helplessness within this collaboration. As a result I developed a new collaboration plan and I started out by asking if my contribution to this collaboration makes sense for my personal and professional goals. I can now answer yes to this question and I am moving forward in my PhD study with comprehensibility. I feel more confident as a leader and as a novice researcher.

Meaningfulness: Is my goal of completing a PhD worth my efforts and commitment?

Essentially, what comes to mind when I answer this question is; do I have any stakes in the international collaborations. I don’t find it easy to separate meanings in my life and the meaning that I have made in my research work. My research work is something I do because I love developing myself and seeing the world around me develop. Working in Health Science means for me that I get to see an intersectionality between my own capacity for wellness and the discoveries made by research teams for the betterment of wellness for individuals, communities, populations and nations. At various times in my short research career I have felt a spark of personal meaning when working on a research problem with a group of passionate and thoughtful colleagues. I know now that I will be the most committed to a project when I get that spark, and after re-organizing my research plan for my PhD and re-structuring the international collaborations this spark is popping up all over the place.

Tips for others based on this short reflection of my experience:

•  Listen to your feelings of uncertainty in any study experience and after reflection of the uncertainty and your current circumstance take action.
• Listen to those that see you most often and know your circumstances truly, they will give you the right advice even if it is hard to hear, take the advice and reflect on it. (Family, partners, and/or mentors)
• Remember that you have the power to ask and receive answers and support for reaching your personal and professional goals.
• Chase the sparks that motivate you and give you a sense of meaning from your work.

Finally, I recommend international collaboration and mobility in graduate studies. If these elements are added to any study plan there is potential for building confidence and meaning which are elements for arriving at the ‘ease’ end of Aaron Antonovsky’s continuum.

Writer:

Jenny Auxier 

PhD Candidate

University of Turku

Department of Nursing Science

Reference:
Schnyder, U., Büchi, S., Sensky, T., & Klaghofer, R. (2000). Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence: Trait or State? Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 69(6), 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1159/000012411