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”
Category Archives: The Literature
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”
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”
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?”
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”
Writing for Wellness 