Lifelong Learning Experiences and Meaning-Making Via Narratives of Health Professionals Serving in Greek Public Hospitals

Objective: The objective is to inculcate a culture of lifelong learning in health professionals, it is important to investigate how they experience and make sense of it throughout their lives.

Methods: An exploratory qualitative study involving thematic narrative analysis was performed from April 2021 to September 2023. A total of 14 health professionals from 12 different health professions who are public servants in Greek hospitals participated in this study. Data were collected via narrative biographical interviews, and the software NVivo ver. 12 was used for data analysis.

Results: The thematic narrative analysis revealed 2 themes: (a) the constitution of subjectivity as lifelong learners and (b) the management of learning. All participants reported biographical learning experiences and personal characteristics connected to the lifelong learner identity and demonstrated attributes and skills in lifelong learning management.

Conclusion: The study’s findings highlight the need to use open qualitative methods to clearly and deeply understand lifelong learning in health professionals’ lives. This will foster more discussions about the ways of enhancing the cultivation of skills related to lifelong learning and ensuring the sustainability of health professionals’ participation in it.

Cite this article as: Orfanidou C, Karalis T, Valkanos E, Kedraka K. Lifelong learning experiences and meaning-making via narratives of health professionals serving in greek public hospitals. Arch Health Sci Res. 2025; 12, 0071, doi: 10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2025.24071.