Liz Smythe

Elizabeth C. Smythe is a New Zealand midwifery and nursing academic, and is an emeritus professor at the Auckland University of Technology. Smythe's research focuses on hermeneutic phenomenology, which is the study of interpretive structures of experience, to improve healthcare experiences and clinical practice. Smythe led the introduction of the Doctor of Health Science programme at the university. She retired in 2022.

Academic career

Smythe trained as a nurse and a midwife, and then in 1998 completed a PhD titled Being safe in childbirth: a hermeneutic interpretation of the narratives of women and practitioners at Massey University, supervised by Cheryl Benn and Valerie Fleming.

Smythe's research focuses on using hermeneutic phenomenology to improve healthcare experiences. Smythe led the introduction of the midwifery degree in 1987, and the development of the Doctor of Health Science programme, a professional doctorate unique in New Zealand focused on changing clinical practice. The doctorate was established in 2003, and became the "largest health professional doctorate in Australasia" by 2020, and had more than a hundred enrolled students by 2022. notable doctoral students include Susan Crowther, Judith McAra-Couper, Louise Rummel and Valerie Wright-St Clair.

Smythe was appointed emeritus professor in 2022, having retired from her position earlier that year.

Selected works