Narrative Medicine: What Patient Stories Can Tell Us

Approaching Patients

One significant topic of discussion was how to approach patients and obtain permission to write about their stories. Whereas physicians are used to submitting cases to medical journals with patients de-identified, medical reporting relies on talking about real people, using their real names and providing objective details that can be fact-checked. Mr. Fried said the doctors he works with in his workshop are often uncomfortable with the idea of being so explicit in asking for a patient’s permission, but that patients frequently are more than willing to share their stories. Mr. Fried also observed that the doctor who emails a patient to ask permission and does not receive an immediate reply typically assumes this means the patient is not interested in speaking with them. However, other explanations may exist—the patient may have been busy or sick or traveling—and, while being respectful of boundaries, the doctor ought to send a follow-up email and explore the conversation further.

In Sum

The session was tremendously engaging and even included an interactive writing exercise led by Rogers and Mr. Fried. With so many great stories in medicine, the audience clearly regarded the talk as well worth their time in helping them discover their passion for narrative medicine and grow into the writers they hope to be.

Jason Liebowitz, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Reference

1. Gowda D, Curran T, Khedagi A, et al. Implementing an interprofessional narrative medicine program in academic clinics: Feasibility and program evaluation. Perspect Med Educ. 2019 Feb;8(1):52–59.