Michael Vitez, was our speaker.
Michael is director of Temple University's
"Narrative Medicine Program" .
Michael was also a Philadelphia Inquirer journalist for three
decades, and he earned a prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1997, for his series on
Final Choices. During his career as a journalist, Michael focused on
human interest stories, following Faulkner's approach that it is the writer's
privilege and duty "to help man endure by lifting his heart."
Michael had an extraordinary talent to do just that.
, Michael Vitez, to be our speaker, and we gratefully
accepted. Michael is director of Temple University's
"Narrative Medicine Program," involving end of life choices, I
believe. Something none of us want to think about, but a necessity
to relieve those we leave behind of critical decisions.
Michael was also a Philadelphia Inquirer journalist for three
decades, and he earned a prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1997, for his series on
Final Choices. During his career as a journalist, Michael focused on
human interest stories, following Faulkner's approach that it is the writer's
privilege and duty "to help man endure by lifting his heart."
Michael had an extraordinary talent to do just that.
So what is Narrative Medicine? Here an excerpt from Michael's web page:
As Director of Narrative Medicine at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine, my mission is to focus on the human side of medicine. Essentially, I'm encouraging students, doctors, nurses, staff and patients to share their stories, and I'm telling stories myself from the hospital. The underlying premise is that stories are an indispensable part of medicine, too often overlooked.
The facts are well reported: Doctors too often feel isolated, frustrated, and burned out. Their humanity is challenged. The focus on the patient and patient’s story is often overlooked and devalued in the rush and crush. Students come into medical school full of empathy but in their education and training this often erodes.
Our goal is to protect and support this empathy, to nourish the humanism that brings physicians into the profession, and to teach the skills of narrative that help at the bedside and beyond. ...
We run a number of electives in the medical schools and programs like our Story Slams encourage storytelling and reflection in many forms. Students also conceive and complete individual or group projects for elective credit under the guidance of our faculty. Our program gives medical students and physicians skills and opportunities to reflect on their experiences, to find and celebrate meaning in their work, and to appreciate the value of the patient’s story in patient care.
Stories are an indispensable part of medicine. Along with the physician’s touch, they are at the core of the patient-physician relationship. Stories have the power to heal, inspire, build relationships and change the world.
Michael shared some of his experiences and some of those from his students to emphasize the way his course changes the way physicians see their patients and the emotional impact that their patients are going through.
Here is a link to our narrative medicine page:
And here is a story recently by a Temple ER Doc that for a time was the "most viewed" story on the New York Times website: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/how-to-tell-a-mother-her-child-is-dead.html
It was a very riveting presentation.
