Developing and Implementing Narrative Medicine Workshops in Post-Graduate Medical Education

Narrative medicine is a practice that uses the study of the humanities to hone observation and listening skills. This practice has been used as a method of improving clinical competencies in medical students and medical trainees. In prior studies, reflective writing, which is a component of narrative medicine, has been shown to increase empathy, cultural competency and communication skills. At the same time using the skills taught in narrative medicine gives providers the tools to contextualize and process their own experiences which help mitigate provider burnout. Narrative medicine interventions are becoming successfully established at the medical student level, but much less work has been done at the level of residency training, where such programs could potentially be even more beneficial. This study will evaluate the responses of resident participants in a narrative medicine program with the goal of understanding.