Implementing a Narrative Medicine Curriculum During the Internship Year: An Internal Medicine Residency Program Experience

Abstract

Introduction: Narrative medicine develops professional and communication skills that align with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. However, little is known about a narrative medicine curriculum's impact on physicians in training during residency. Implementing a narrative medicine curriculum during residency can be challenging because of time constraints and limited opportunity for nonclinical education.Methods: Six sessions were implemented throughout one academic year to expose first-year internal medicine residents (interns) to narrative medicine. Attendance and participation were documented. At the end of the year, interns completed an open-ended survey to gauge their perception of their experience with the sessions.Results: In total, 17 interns attended at least 1 narrative medicine session, and each session averaged 5.4 attendees. Thirteen eligible interns completed the survey. Thematic analysis identified 3 predominant themes: Mindfulness, physician well-being, and professionalism.Discussion: Overall, the narrative medicine sessions were well attended and the curriculum was well received. This intervention demonstrates the value of a narrative medicine curriculum during medical resident training. Large prospective studies are necessary to identify the long-term benefits of such a curriculum.

A abordagem da medicina narrativa no processo de ensino-aprendizagem nas graduações das profissões da saúde

“…Outros estudos que analisaram a MN como parte da grade curricular identificaram que, além de fomentar a empatia, também contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de características como respeito e reconhecimento da importância da relação entre profissionais de saúde e pacientes [23][24][25][26] . Nesse cenário, destaca-se também o desenvolvimento do autoconhecimento como prática constante de análises e reflexões sobre suas atitudes no processo saúde-doença.…”

“…A MN é considerada como uma metodologia de ensino que apenas apresenta resultados subjetivos aos estudantes envolvidos. De fato, a grande maioria dos artigos avaliados nesta revisão refere-se a estudos qualitativos 17,[23][24][25]29,34,35 .…”

“…Contudo, os estudos revelam processos de mudanças que são, muitas vezes, rapidamente reconhecidos pelos pacientes, como a admiração, o respeito e a empatia dos estudantes da área da saúde diante dos processos singulares de adoecimento desses indivíduos [23][24][25] . Não obstante, dois estudos quantitativos também foram capazes de demonstrar uma relação significativa entre ganho de experiência e saberes entre aqueles que, de alguma forma, foram expostos às habilidades narrativas.…”

A Way Forward in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Making the Case for Narrative Competence in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

“…Educators can also seamlessly incorporate narrative elements into social justice curricula and leadership tracks ( 28 ). When fully developed, narrative competence curricula allow pulmonary and critical care medicine trainees to gain skills in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies of interpersonal and communication skills and professionalism ( 29 , 30 , 31 ).…”

The Use of Tweet-Format Narrative Reflections During a Service-Learning Trip to Appalachia

“…Short tweet-format reflections have been used in medical education and residency programs to capture student experiences, and the use of tweet-format narratives may be an effective tool to facilitate reflection in narrative medicine (Dressler et al, 2019;Liao & Secemsky, 2015;Wesley, Hamer, & Karam, 2018). Dressler and colleagues (2018) explored the use of tweetformat narratives to document student experiences and found that the tweets elicited reflection and provided richer information about student experiences than standard evaluation tools because students were able to immediately document details of experiences and perceptions of patient encounters.…”