1. Narrative Medicine for Post Graduate Year Medical Students.
- Author
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Fu-Tsai Chung, Chien-Da Huang, Han-Pin Kuo, and Ji-Tseng Fang
- Subjects
NARRATIVE medicine ,MEDICAL students ,MEDICAL centers ,NARRATION ,HOSPITALS - Abstract
Background: Medicine practiced with narrative competence, called narrative medicine, proposed as a model for humane and effective medical practice. It can aid Post Graduate Year (PGY) medical students in understanding their plights. Methods: Our program of narrative medicine began during orientation with a typical lecture explaining the theory and introducing the process. Research subjects were comprised of 38 PGY medical students of Saint Paul's Hospital (a local hospital, n=16) and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (a medical center, n=22) during the period of February 2013 to July 2015. Using a narrative approach, PGY medical students could write about daily clinical events and encounters, their struggles, and their accomplishments without the critical eye of the preceptor, the attending, or their seniors. We analyzed the characteristics and contents of narrative writing articles. Results: The attending rate was high in PGY medical students (32/38=84.2%). Most of the narrative articles were from thoracic oncology medicine cases. The most common characteristics of articles included patient-doctor relationship (17/32=53.1%), reflection (7/32=21.9%) and humane (8/32=25.0%). Fifty-nine percent of narrative articles had self-feedback and were correlated with reflective type (p<0.01). The characteristics of articles were different between PGY medical students of the local hospital and the medical center (p=0.03). Conclusions: In this pilot experience, narrative medicine can be a useful tool to help PGY medical students adjust to their roles and responsibilities, communicate and share with patients, and work through emotional difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015