Stories Doctors Tell

Abstract

In special sections such as this one (A Piece of My Mind), leading medical journals publish physicians' narrative anecdotes. These narratives offer a unique window onto the practice of medicine, and, in a context of current concerns about physician wellness and rising rates of burnout, 1 they may constitute an untapped resource for understanding how physicians perceive their personal and professional challenges. Using a narrative inquiry approach, 2 we explored the stories that physicians spontaneously chose to tell about the practice of medicine in narrative sections of medical journals, focusing on the lessons conveyed, the narrative strategies used to convey them, and the relationships between the two.We read all 158 narrative reflections published in the corresponding sections of JAMA (A Piece of My Mind), the New England Journal of Medicine (Perspective), and the Annals of Internal Medicine (On Being a Doctor) between May 2011 and July 2013, with no exclusions. We selected these journals because they published the most reflective narratives among a list of medical journals surveyed, 3 all with high impact factors and space devoted to physicians' stories. While editorial direction likely influences the content and nature of these published stories, author instructions and reviewer guidelines in these journals are broad and general; therefore, the 158 narrative reflections we selected likely represent a reasonable spectrum of views and perspectives. Guided

Bringing narratives from physicians, patients and caregivers together: a scoping review of published research

“…‘Humanity matters’ involved recognition of patient as person in the illness and care experience,74 and this theme manifested differently for each group. We identified three subthemes to qualify how each group related to the topic of humanity in healthcare: patient objectification, caregiver neglect and physician awareness.…”

“…Physicians, patients and caregivers identified a shared sense of the importance of humanity in medical care, offering a starting point for exploration of how humanity in healthcare is defined, enacted and experienced. Studies also revealed a shared sense that agency is elusive within the healthcare system, presenting an opportunity for exploration and conversation around how to effect change in what is often a frustrating and flawed healthcare system, even for physicians 74. Furthermore, while this scoping review focused on studies of physicians’ perspectives alongside those of patients’ and/or caregivers’, future research may wish to consider patient and caregiver perspectives alongside those of health professionals broadly defined or of a different group of health professionals, such as nurses.…”

Fostering humanism: a mixed methods evaluation of the Footprints Project in critical care

“…Nonetheless, the sustained overall Footprints completion through this transition lends support to its integration, which remains paper and whiteboard-based rather than web-based. As an inviting repository of information for patients and families to share with the healthcare team and vice versa, this tactile, accessible, initiative reportedly stimulated story-telling14 and re-invigorated partnerships among the staff, and with patients and families.…”

Third-Year Medical Students' Reactions to Surgical Patients in Pain: Doubt, Distress, and Depersonalization

“…Both for personal protection and to maximize efficiency, physicians become disconnected from their instinctive empathic response and can appear unaffected by the pain and sadness they witness regularly. 10 Without specific instruction 11 on how to cope with inflicting and then attending to patient pain, physicians often behave as though they are immune to the emotional context. At times, students characterize the actions of the care team as “numb” or lacking empathy and strive to emulate these behaviors.…”