For future doctors, it is imperative to understand that patients are people, each with their own background and concerns. Medical students are taught the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and the impact rapport has on healthcare. How can a student build rapport? How do you start listening to all the various aspects of a patient?
Narrative medicine is a structured approach that combines medicine and literature. It is a holistic method that treats the person by using the building blocks of literature as a foundation to construct the story of a patient. These building blocks are translated into listening skills that can be used to construct the physical, emotional and social factors affecting a patient. Narrative medicine is an important aspect to effective communication. Patients want to be able to tell their entire story and by understanding its narrative you can appropriately diagnosis and treat. For more information on narrative medicine, click here http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=714105.
Here, in the Middle East, students have an extremely eclectic group of patients, from many different backgrounds and cultures. The Technion American Medical Program's course, Communication Skills and Medical Professionalism, is successfully teaching students how to listen to their patient’s stories, regardless of background. The skills learned in this course allow students to understand the common thread weaving the stories of patients and will enable them to provide a complete plan for recovery.
Robert Lubin
Director, Student Services