Narrative Medicine: Patients as Storytellers

WRITTEN BY TARA VON MACH, OMS-II

Narrative medicine has always been a field that has kept my interest in the arts alive while also pursuing medicine The field of narrative medicine was pioneered by many individuals, but one of the most notable is Dr Rita Charon Narrative medicine is a developing field that uses the medical humanities to examine patient stories, art, and literature and help improve health care workers' listening and observational skills

While living in Baltimore, I joined a monthly program called “AfterWards,” a narrative medicine group at the Children’s Center at Johns Hospital Hospital The group aimed to illuminate stories of healing for healers by meeting monthly to read, write, and reflect on literature, artwork, and music. It was a space for social workers, nurses, residents, and physicians from any field of medicine to gather and examine the narrative of writing, photography, or poetry. We read nonfiction pieces from pediatric oncologists, examined art, and discussed it all We reflected on nonfiction from doctors’ experiences with the loss of their first patient or the joys of caring for kiddos on the pediatric oncology unit As a former healthcare worker, narrative medicine helped me become a better listener, reflect on witnessing sometimes traumatic cases in healthcare, and help me process the joys of being in a profession where I get to help people

The medical humanities have a big role to play in medicine I love stories, and I love reading Reading has always been an outlet for me to experience what others experience - the joys of being a mother, the grief of loss, or how even the most ordinary moments in life like drinking coffee in the morning are so special. As future healthcare workers, we are going to live and breathe storytelling Narrative medicine has allowed me to see how the arts and medicine can go hand in hand Our patients will be the storytellers and we will have to listen to their stories, dissect their stories, and work with them to prescribe the best treatment And what about our patients’ families and caregivers? They also have their own stories to tell about the people they love most and who are suffering

Narrative medicine can be a helpful tool as we transition from medical student to physician. As future doctors, we have to be experts in diagnosis and treatment, but to me, narrative medicine helps me contextualize patients’ emotional experiences with illness The osteopathic philosophy has taught us that our patients’ healing is more than just the biological processes that are going on inside their bodies Although I am no expert, for me, narrative medicine has helped me better empathize with patients’ experiences, better understand the physical and emotional rigors of medicine, and how to better process it all.

Citations:

Charon R Narrative Medicine: A Model for Empathy, Reflection, Profession, and Trust JAMA 2001;286(15):1897–1902 doi:10 1001/jama 286 15 1897