Much of medical training is spent reading literature. This is mostly in the form of textbooks, primary research articles, or summaries of the most recent literature (UpToDate, etc.). We sit in seminars and absorb facts and spend our free time catching up on the stack of journals we get in the mail (my flights to see myContinue reading “The Literature: How Reading Fiction Builds Empathy”
Author Archives: thenimnim
The Literature: List of Works in Narrative Medicine
Full Disclosure: I am on vacation this week and spending time with extended family taking naps, eating homemade goodies, taking long walks, and laughing until my belly hurts. As much as I love writing and diving into the literature around narrative medicine, I decided to take a brief break to be as mindful and present asContinue reading “The Literature: List of Works in Narrative Medicine”
Writing Prompt: Stopping by Woods
It has been snowing this week in Columbus. One of the things I love about growing up and living in the Midwest is the excitement that comes with the arrival of winter. My favorite thing to do is to watch fresh snow fall outside my window as I drink a cup of tea and read a goodContinue reading “Writing Prompt: Stopping by Woods”
The Literature: The Benefits of Narrative Medicine for Residents
The practice of medicine is a beautiful confluence of art and science, where we interpret a patient’s clinical data within the context of their personal narrative and use all of the information to provide the best care possible. That sounds nice, but most residents hear that and laugh at the thought of having enough time toContinue reading “The Literature: The Benefits of Narrative Medicine for Residents”
Writing Prompt: How Am I Doing?
A running theme here is how difficult it is to practice medicine. Something that I have struggled with in residency is the ability to determine if I am functioning well as an intern. We have no grades to earn and formal evaluations can range from extremely critical to glowing within the same week. It is hard to knowContinue reading “Writing Prompt: How Am I Doing?”
The Literature: What Is Narrative Medicine?
When starting this blog, I was asked by many people, “but what exactly is narrative medicine?” I thought that after a month devoted to the concept in medical school, I should be able to answer that question; however all I could ever muster up were some vague musings on telling our stories to help us connectContinue reading “The Literature: What Is Narrative Medicine?”
Writing Prompt: The Best Possible Day
Atul Gawande is one of my favorite medical writers. His oeuvre is a great place to begin when you are interested in exploring narrative medicine because it is thoughtful and thought-provoking, but still very accessible to the modern reader. He is the author of several books, including Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, from whichContinue reading “Writing Prompt: The Best Possible Day”
The Literature: A Brief History of Physician-Authors
A phrase I have heard uttered by many medical trainees (including myself) is “I don’t have time to write.” Many of us have histories as amateur essayists and poets with a thirst for literature that we have since abandoned since starting our medical education. The time and emotional demands in medicine seem to preclude us fromContinue reading “The Literature: A Brief History of Physician-Authors”
Why Narrative Medicine?
Medical training is HARD. Let us count some of the ways in which it can be difficult: We work long hours We are exposed to an onslaught of information that we are supposed to retain We are constantly being pulled in a million different directions We have to somehow build rapport with a patient andContinue reading “Why Narrative Medicine?”
Writing for Wellness 