Narrative Medicine: A Bridge Between Healthcare and the Humanities

MUHAMMAD SIDDIQ – As a pre-med English Major, I’ve been met with a variety of responses upon telling people my academic interests:

“Whoa, I didn’t know you could do that.”

“That’s so cool! I haven’t heard of anyone doing that before. How come?”

“That sounds smart. I’m sure it helps your GPA.” (sigh)

A small sample of what I’ve heard over the past several years, each of these remarks share something in common: the assumption that medicine and the humanities are too different to intertwine. 

For the majority of my time as an undergraduate student, I assumed the same. I felt that my skills as a writer and love for storytelling would be underutilized once I put on a white coat. With the fear of leaving behind the knowledge I have attained from my English degree, I found myself regularly conflicted as to which career path was truly meant for me. It was during this period of doubt as a third-year student that my English professor and faculty mentor, Dr. Jason Payton, guided me to a medical approach known as Narrative Medicine; before long, I was fully convinced that a substantial intersection between healthcare and the humanities exists. 

As explained by Columbia University, the institution that pioneered the field in 2000, “Narrative Medicine fortifies clinical practice with the narrative competence to recognize, absorb, metabolize, interpret, and be moved by the stories of illness.” Behind every set of symptoms is a patient with a unique story and life circumstances. As future health professionals, the time we spend shadowing and volunteering in healthcare settings shows us how integral empathy and communication are to providing effective patient care. By exposing us to different backgrounds and encouraging expression, the humanities display a commitment to these same core values. The Narrative Medicine approach recognizes this overlap and employs reading, writing, and reflection to enhance clinical practice. 

Students and educators of Narrative Medicine explore a variety of media: poetry, prose literature, comics, film, photographs, paintings, research studies, etc. Many of these pieces deal with the experience of illness, while others may deal with social justice, philosophy, colonialism, hard sciences, or ethics. Each work is “closely read” or examined under a thoughtful and critical lens. It then becomes the subject of reflection, discussion, and writing. This process ultimately hopes to achieve what public health reporter Kim Krisberg describes as “[a] shift from asking ‘How can I treat this disease?’ to ‘How can I help my patient?’” This change in thinking becomes increasingly important as the healthcare industry loses its “human” element, instead choosing to focus on efficiency. By “close reading” texts and visual art pieces, those in the field of Narrative Medicine develop the skills needed to better connect with their patients. They learn how to become better listeners who are able to pay close attention to the nuances in their patients’ speech. They also develop an appreciation for stories and a dedication toward using their patients’ narratives to understand their thoughts and emotions before, ultimately, responding with compassion. Furthermore, a proficiency in writing aids those with the Narrative Medicine approach in speaking to their patients clearly, concisely and with sensitivity. This is of the utmost importance as a physician has to occasionally be the bearer of difficult news and regularly explain complicated medical terminology in straightforward language. Rita Charon, MD, PhD, who founded the Narrative Medicine program at Columbia, describes her early feelings incorporating narrative skills into her clinical practice: “For me, it became a way for patients to feel heard and noticed. It’s a commitment to understanding patients’ lives, caring for caregivers, and giving voice to the suffering.” Alongside its interdisciplinary nature, it is this dedication to hearing and valuing the patient that has allowed Narrative Medicine to grow over the past two decades. 

Today, medical schools across the United States and abroad have begun to implement the humanities into their curriculums. In Georgia, for example, the Medical College of Georgia,  Emory University School of Medicine, and Mercer University School of Medicine all implement medical humanities into certain courses and/or offer biomedical ethics courses. Narrative Medicine courses and programs, specifically, have been established at a variety of institutions such as Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Ohio State University. Columbia University continues to be at the forefront of Narrative Medicine education, offering both a Master of Science in Narrative Medicine and an online certificate program in addition to their medical school course offerings. Aside from these intensive degree programs, workshops and seminars in Narrative Medicine are becoming more common. Emory Continuing Education, for example, offers a six-session course that nearly anyone can attend. Similarly, weekend workshops provide the opportunity to take part in “close reading” exercises and discussion. 

In healthcare and the humanities, I once saw two independent disciplines. After learning about Narrative Medicine, I now see that a shared commitment to empathy and an emphasis on communication allows the two fields to amplify one another. If you’re interested in healthcare (this isn’t just directed at our future physicians!) and have a love for reading and writing like I do, I encourage you to take a look at this up-and-coming approach. If, perhaps, the humanities are not your area of interest but you hold another passion outside of your intended healthcare field, I encourage you to look into other interdisciplinary options. With programs such as MD/MPH, MD/MBA, MD/JD, and MD/PhD becoming more common, a number of choices lie in front of you. By integrating our outside interests into our healthcare pursuits, we all have the opportunity to develop a unique perspective that can benefit our future patients and the industry at large. 

Editor: Courteney Malin

Photography Source: Ushna Syed