Storytelling: The First Step to a Good Doctor
- Anatomy Jane
- May 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Source: Freepik
Striking pen strokes across a blank page. Clacking away on a keyboarding. Going to sleep with an empty document and waking with a world full of color, characters, and stories. A strong hero, a vengeful villain, a comedic sidekick, and a passionate love interest. Storytelling is all around us, in the books lining our kindergarten teacher's classroom to the stories we dream up when we're all bundled up in bed. But what you might find most surprising of all is that many different career paths transform their followers into a modern day Shakespeare or Hemingway. Lawyers who use the human psyche as a mode of telling the story, the whole story, and nothing but the story. Chefs whose newest pasta dish shows the rich Italian history of their grandmother and how she came to America with nothing but this recipe.
But, storytelling in medicine is a concept that people can't seem to wrap their heads around. I mean, even the idea of lawyers and chefs telling stories is a little bit abstract but is nothing that comes remotely close to doctors telling stories. The one thing you don't want your doctor to do is tell stories. You want them to be straightforward and factual, not spinning a tale about possibilities and "what could be's". However, this can actually be one of the most helpful ways a doctor shares their knowledge.
Every person has a story: old or young, friend or foe, doctor or patient. Understanding these stories will allow doctors to address their patients in a more personalized way and work to use their background to treat them. As it is aware, creative writing skills include character analysis, plot organization, and developing emotional complexity, which many writers gain through developing an understanding in storytelling. This understanding also allows physicians to develop connections with their patients by bonding over certain similarities that would not have been known had the physician not developed critical analysis skills necessary in the life of a reader and a writer. In addition, including a component of creativity to the lifestyle of physicians will help them prevent burnout and enhance the excitement of the medical field.
The interesting and whimsical career path described above is typically known as narrative medicine. Many individuals that pursue a career or interest in this field set out to become clinical physicians but later discover their passion for the humanities, specifically storytelling and creative writing. There are many modern day doctors that have transitioned their career paths in a slightly different direction or have been able to integrate both aspects of their interest into creative writing.
Two doctors that have advocated for their adventures through social media are Christle Nwora (@christlenworamd) and Sayantani DasGupta (@sayantanidasguptabooks). Nwora documents her journey on writing a children's book that aims to educate children about the different professions in the hospital while also being a pediatrics resident and John's Hopkins University on her social media. Meanwhile. DasGupta appears to have taken a break from her roles as a physician to be a full-time author and host seminars regarding narrative medicine at prestigious universities. Regardless of what roles these physicians play and what pathway they decide to take in regards to their career in narrative medicine, it is apparent that they both utilize this growing fields in ways to benefit society and its ever-changing perspective on narrative medicine while playing into their various interests.
Integrating storytelling with the world of medicine allows for physicians to gain a deeper understanding of their patients and analyze their stories in an attempt to personalize their treatment. So, they next time you're reading a book and the protagonist is using the map to find the treasure chest, think about how doctors can use this ideas to improve their lives and treat patients.
Work Cited:
Commentaires