Get Narrative Medicine Form Function And Ethics Article

Charon defines narrative medicine as "medicine practiced with these skills of recognizing, absorbing, interpreting, and being moved by the stories of illness" (4). She calls this a "new frame" for medicine, believing that it can improve many of the defects of our current means of providing (or not) medical care.

In a nutshell, narrative medicine draws on the study of art and literature to enhance students' listening and observation skills and to expand their view of patients to encompass more than just medical histories.

The six principles are “intersubjectivity, relationality, personhood and embodiment, action toward justice, close reading (or slow looking), and creativity” (p. 4).

Charon's drill wherein she teaches students to closely read a text or story for the five aspects of frame, form, time, plot and desire. She also has her students involved in reflective writing; each piece of writing produced by her students is also analyzed by this "five-fold" method.

Narrative ethics provides a framework for ethical decision making. This framework informs healthcare practitioners that to make an ethical decision regarding the life and well-being of an individual, one must view that individual's stories, history, and character as a key component of the decision-making process.

“[Narrative medicine] is a commitment to understanding patients' lives, caring for the caregivers, and giving voice to the suffering.” Rita Charon, MD, PhD. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

For example, Charon's narrative competence refers to the ability to acknowledge, absorb, interpret and be moved, but it is a major challenge how to translate these words to make them the content for the medical education.

Narrative Medicine is a diagnostic and comprehensive approach that utilizes patients' narratives in clinical practice, research, and education to promote healing. Beyond attempts to reach accurate diagnoses, it aims to address the relational and psychological dimensions that occur in tandem with physical illness.