“Writing stories can create better doctors.” Baruch is convinced that narrative medicine – focusing on close reading – isn’t enough to prepare physicians to deal with ambiguities, confusions and conflicts inherent in medical practice. He urges teaching them to write stories so they can hear their patients’ stories better. References and describes courses he has taught (one with an MFA creative writer) to teach medical students about characters, conflict, selecting key details … storytelling elements often emphasized in creative writing. The goal is to encourage them to struggle with words on the screen (or page) to prepare to more deeply understand the fragmented, often confusing stories presented by patients. Good preparation for a teacher contemplating a narrative assignment; maybe less so for the students themselves.
Access
- Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10912-013-9243-7
Details
Language: English
Type of Teaching Material: Writing How-Tos
Setting (class level or workshop): Professional
Type of Story: Journal Article
Medium: written
Contributed by: Health Story Hub Team ( health-storyhub@uiowa.edu )
Citation:
Baruch, J. M. (2013). Creative writing as a medical instrument. Journal of Medical Humanities, 34(4), 459-469. doi:10.1007/s10912-013-9243-7