Narrative medicine: Re-engaging and re-energizing ourselves through story

Physicians and other allied health professionals have many distractions from their work and from original motivations to become health caring professionals. Activities that detract from making meaningful connection with patients result in high levels of work dissatisfaction and burnout even at early stages of career or training. Narrative Medicine provides an antidote to these influences. It is an experiential discipline that draws on the Arts and Humanities, connects health professionals to their original motivation to care, cultivates the ability to engage patients and stimulates professional growth. When practiced with interdisciplinary teams, commonalities and mutual purpose are highlighted, promoting group cohesion and appreciation. The practice of this discipline and development of narrative competence relates closely to the advancement along numerous milestones, particularly Patient Care, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, and Professionalism. This article describes an experiential and didactic workshop presented at the 2019 Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine which outlined a Narrative Medicine curriculum as taught at a community hospital Family Medicine residency. The curriculum is aimed at promoting residents' professional development, personal wellbeing, and capacity to engage patients.