Hearing Patient Stories: Use of Medical Humanities on a Large-Scale, Virtual Platform to Improve Clinician Engagement

Burnout and disengagement are common among primary care practitioners (PCPs), particularly those who provide women's health care at the Veterans Health Administration. The shift to virtual care forced by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this issue, which may also impact clinician attrition, the patient-clinician relationship, and ultimately, patient health.

Physicians who participate in the medical humanities have more empathy and experience less burnout. To improve satisfaction and engagement among PCPs who care for women veterans, this large-scale, virtual, interprofessional narrative medicine event was implemented to gain a deeper appreciation of the impact of deployments on women veterans, describe the social and emotional challenges faced by women veterans postdeployment, and identify strategies to support veterans during reintegration. This novel use of medical media resulted in high attendance (> 800 participants) and engagement (> 1700 unique chat messages, with > 80 spontaneous replies). Findings suggest a potential shift in clinician appreciation and a positive impact on the patient-clinician relationship.

Medical humanities interventions are feasible on a large-scale virtual implementation. This curriculum demonstrates the successful utilization of women veterans' stories for demonstrating a positive clinician impact as evidenced by the extensive participation, engagement, and participant satisfaction.