Medical education and culture are full of moments of “systole”, the expectation of constant output as we strive for excellence in all things (rotations, examinations, procedural competence, metrics, reviews, etc). Without built-in spaces for “diastole”, health care workers are susceptible to overwork, moral injury, and burnout.
Narrative Medicine is a powerful tool that can help health care workers critically reflect on experiences that significantly impact their learning journey. The term “narrative medicine” is attributed to Rita Charon, MD, who characterized it as “medicine practiced with narrative competence…such as close reading of literature and reflective writing.”1 Just as patients in the clinical encounter can find empowerment and healing by sharing their narratives, health care workers, especially learners in training, can find greater connection, meaning, and empathy through reading and reflecting via a narrative medicine curriculum.
Target Audience: General Audience, Healthcare workers, Doctors, Administrators
Learning Objectives:
- Illustrate the importance of Narrative Medicine curricula in healthcare settings
- Learn how to design and implement a Narrative Medicine curriculum
- Discover how to facilitate a simple Narrative Medicine session
