{"id":1844,"date":"2024-07-11T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2024-09-03T16:30:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T23:30:19","slug":"a-novel-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/a-novel-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Going beyond the diagnosis, narrative medicine can transform patient care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Going beyond the diagnosis, narrative medicine can transform patient care<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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\n\n \n Narrative medicine uses humanities tools to train medical students to be better listeners \u2014 and as a result, better doctors.\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n By<\/span>Meredith McGroarty<\/a><\/strong>\n \n July 11, 2024<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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When Pamela Schaff \u201919<\/a>, director of USC\u2019s Master of Science in Narrative Medicine Program<\/a>, was working toward her PhD in literature and creative writing<\/a> at USC Dornsife, she studied the complex ways in which Henry James depicted relationships between characters in his novels. Schaff says the close reading of such texts during her doctoral research enhanced her clinical skills, as well as her ability to interpret the joys and struggles of her patients, and to act on their behalf \u2014 two key areas of practice that narrative medicine aims to bolster.<\/p>\n

Students in the Narrative Medicine Program learn that the ancient medical tradition of beginning an examination by \u201ctaking a history\u201d to understand a patient\u2019s story does not account for what happens during the clinical encounter. There is a key distinguishing factor when practicing narrative medicine called \u201cnarrative humility.\u201d\u00a0 The concept recognizes that a patient\u2019s story is not one that can be mastered but instead is dynamic and requires listeners to reflect on what they bring to an encounter. It also requires them to be open to the transformation that occurs when we hear another\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

The Narrative Medicine Program builds on this foundational practice by equipping students \u2014 future physicians, social workers, psychologists, nurses and those aspiring to work with health-related nonprofits \u2014 with a comprehensive range of humanities-based skills to engage with patients. These tools are designed to help graduates gain a more holistic understanding of an illness, including the contextual life circumstances and patient anxieties related to it.<\/p>\n

While the program is housed at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, courses are taught by faculty with appointments at USC Dornsife and with specialties outside of biomedicine and clinical work. By drawing from such disciplines as creative writing<\/a>, sociology<\/a>, philosophy<\/a> and anthropology<\/a>, students learn how to \u201cread\u201d a patient\u2019s account of their illness, appreciate their fears regarding prognosis or treatment, and communicate news and information in a manner that is most effective for patient well-being.<\/p>\n

Students immerse themselves in diverse works of poetry, film, fiction and theatre that invite them to grapple with the uncertainty and complexity of the human condition. Works such as Claudia Rankine\u2019s Citizen: An American Lyric,<\/em> Ocean Vuong\u2019s On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous<\/em> and Alison Bechdel\u2019s graphic memoir Fun Home<\/em> invite students to reflect on individual and community identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cClose attention builds trust. It opens a space where patients, perhaps initially hesitant about vaccinating their kids or worried about developmental issues, will truly feel seen and cared for \u2014 an experience that\u2019s rare in the rush of a standard 15-minute appointment,\u201d says Schaff, professor of medical education, family medicine and pediatrics and director of Keck School of Medicine\u2019s Humanities, Ethics, Art, and Law (HEAL) Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One recent graduate of the Narrative Medicine Program, Kathy Riley, is now associate director of programs at Cancer Support Community Los Angeles. She attributes her proficiency in addressing the complexities of grief and loss \u2014 a significant part of her work with caregivers \u2014 to the skills cultivated through the program. She notes caregivers are often overlooked in the context of illness and treatment and helping them address their feelings is vital for their well-being.<\/p>\n

The field of narrative medicine is now widening far beyond the doctor\u2019s office. Using stories to better understand subtexts and perspectives is also proving useful in the realms of social justice, law and myriad other areas, notes Erika Wright \u201909, associate director of the Narrative Medicine Program.<\/p>\n

Wright, assistant professor of clinical medical education and English, earned a PhD in English from USC Dornsife and also serves as an instructor in the Narrative Medicine Program. She says, \u201cLearning how to understand complex community narratives, as well as recognizing that each individual within a particular community has their own story, is key to being able to best help an individual \u2014 whether in the doctor\u2019s office or beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n USC Dornsife Magazine\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Spring\/Summer 2024<\/h2>\n

Health and Well‑Being<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Narrative medicine uses humanities tools to train medical students to be better listeners\u2014and as a result, better doctors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGoing beyond the diagnosis, narrative medicine can transform patient care<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Using humanities tools, future doctors learn to listen better and gain insights that can transform patient care\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/a-novel-approach\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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