Finding
Given increasing interest in the “power” of narrative for caring for patients, students, and ourselves [2], I found the editorial refreshing and insightful, with an elegant call for an integrative, albeit judicious approach of narrativeand evidencebased medicine in orthopaedics.
Paper
Letter to the Editor: Editorial: What is Narrative Medicine, and Why Should We Use it in Orthopaedic Practice?
Abstract
I would like to thank Dr. Leopold for his editorial, “What is Narrative Medicine, andWhy ShouldWeUse it in Orthopaedic Practice?” [4]. Given increasing interest in the “power” of narrative for caring for patients, students, and ourselves [2], I found the editorial refreshing and insightful, with an elegant call for an integrative, albeit judicious approach of narrativeand evidencebased medicine in orthopaedics. This editorial resonated with my own gratifying experience facilitating interactive (guided) reflective writing, a flower in the garden of narrative medicine, for fostering reflective capacity [10], resilience/well-being [9], and humanism in medical education, practice, and leadership [8]. As a medical educator, I have had the privilege of noting positive benefits of such curricula and programs for trainees, faculty, clinicians, and administrators [2, 8, 9] and reciprocally, for myself as well [7]. The editorial content is consistent with my belief, buttressed by evidence, in the value of interactive reflective writing specifically and narrative medicine more generally for supporting lifelong professional identity formation [8] and quality patient care with a person-centered approach [4]. Whither surgery? When providing faculty development workshops for enhancing quality feedback to students’ reflective narratives [8], there’s inevitably a surgeon or two (ormore!) garnering a few chuckles mixed with admiration as they assert that surgeons like this stuff, too. What’s not to like? Narrative medicine is about patients’ stories and our stories; both have value within medicine. We humanize to maintain connection, meaning, and purpose, and to re-humanize as needed within our work. Implementing health humanities, including narrative methods, in medical education and practice is feasible with available curricula, programs, resilience/ well-being workshops, and online journals, including for surgery specialties [1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10]. Research is needed on outcomes of such a prudent integrative approach, as we strive to cultivate reflective “habits of mind, heart, and practice” [6] or “passionate virtuosity” [3, 4], for clinical excellence and professional well-being.
Authors
H. Wald
Journal
Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research