What is Narrative Medicine? The effective care of the sick requires singular knowledge of the patient, competence and commitment of the physician, and a sturdy bond of trust between the two. Despite the many socio-cultural and professional factors that can divide doctors and patients and the impact of political and economic pressures on health care as a whole, effective medical practice needs to replace hurried and impersonal care with careful listening and attention. Narrative medicine is one cost effective and evidence-based method to equip health care professionals with the skills needed to respond to the challenge. By fortifying clinical practice with the ability to recognize, absorb, interpret, and be moved by stories of illness, narrative training enables practitioners to comprehend patients’ experiences and understand what they themselves undergo as clinicians.
Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany in conjunction with the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University in New York invites you to an intensive weekend workshop, reserved for twenty-four participants, offering rigorous skill-building in narrative competence. Participants will learn effective techniques for attentive listening and complex representation.
Small group seminars offer first-hand experience in close-reading, reflective writing, and autobiographical exercises. Participants will receive a packet of readings prior to the weekend that will include seminar articles in the field of narrative medicine by leading educators. The target audience is health care professionals, and writers and scholars interested in narrative medicine.
Preliminary Schedule
June 17, 2016 (Friday)
03:00 Welcome from Faculty
03:45 Reading by Nellie Hermann
Small Group Seminar: writing exercise
Adjournment
Reception and joint Dinner
June 18, 2016 (Saturday)
09:00 Plenary Address: “After Empathy: Film in the Clinical Context” by Maura Spiegel
10:15 Refreshment break
10:30 Small Group Seminars: Close Reading: Training for attentive listening
12:30 Lunch
02:00 Plenary Address: “Writing in the Clinical Context and Beyond” by Nellie Hermann
03:15 Refreshment break
03:30 Small Group Seminars: Narrative Writing from practice: enlarging the clinical fund of knowledge through representation
05:00 Adjournment
To attend, please visit the online registration form.