Why patient stories actually matter
Thoughts on patient narrative wonderfully expressed as always by Carolyn Thomas.
Most of our medical visits start with some variation of this opening question: “Why are you here today?”Connecting with and understanding patients thus requires doctors to listen to what’s called the patient narrative. The importance of really hearing this narrative is beautifully described by U.K. physician Dr. Jeff Clark, writing in the British Journal of General Practice. But the problem, as Dr. Clark reminds his peers, is that patients and doctors see the world in very different ways. He also warns that the stories patients tell their physicians about why they’re seeking medical care may all too often be seen by doctors as merely a time-wasting distraction from “getting to the bottom of things.”
The urge to get to the bottom of things may also help to explain what’s known as “The 18-Second Rule”.
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Hello Marie and welcome home to Ireland after your Aussie adventure! So happy to see one of my Heart Sisters posts published on your site today. Thanks for this!
regards,
C.
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dear Carolyn,
what a excellent post about how vital it is for clinicians to listen to patients’ stories. practicing medicine as both science and the art of medicine has fallen to the wayside, and I believe it’s a loss to both the patient and to their physicians, as well as nurses. there surely needs to be an intense course on “therapeutic listening”, one I found so valuable as a hospice nurse, but also when working in other types of patient settings.
thank you, Marie for re-posting Carolyn’s very relevant and insightful writing on this topic.
gratefully,
Karen
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Thank you Karen for your kind words. You’re so right – medicine is both art and science. With the growing hype around health technology out there, I fear the “art” will be even further compromised. See this 7 yr-old child’s drawing of her trip to the doctor’s office for a chilling example: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1187932
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Karen is always such a thoughtful and wise reader Carolyn. and thank you again for keeping us challenged and informed in the blogosphere. You know what a big, big fan I am of your writing.
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