Is There a Need for Narrative Medicine in Medical Students’ Education? A Literature Review

Abstract

This review was made to assess the available data on the usage of narrative teaching methods in medical schools curricula worldwide. It was made at the backdrop of a general question whether and how narrative medicine should be incorporated into the medical curricula. The primary PubMed literature search was completed in September 2016. Four hundred forty-three papers, dating from 1986 to 2016, were analyzed based on having ‘narrative’ in their title and were mainly narrative reports or reviews. Among them, 52 were selected as having specifically ‘narrative medicine’ (NM) in their keywords, 27 in them regarded NM in medical education. The next assessment of the material was made under the Best Evidence in Medical Education (BEME) review protocol requirements in October 2016. Primary outcome measures were author, country, field of study, year of study, type of course, number of students, methods, and theoretical/practical approach. The papers concerning NM in medical education were scattered among different strands of topics on NM and are estimated at 51% of the 52 selected papers on NM specifically. They represent material dedicated primarily to nursing students and some to medical students, trainees, and residents. The analysis divided the 27 papers based on 9 categories including (1) author, (2) country, (3) field of study, (4) year of study, (5) type of course, (6) number of students taken to assessment, (7) methods, (8) assessment, and (9) theoretical vs. practical approach. Based on the collected data, there is no structured model of NM approach in medical education. It may be caused by the current state of this discipline that seems to be still developing. However, it is apparent that there exist several potential areas of NM to be applied in medical curricula in Central European medical schools, including the Centre of Medical Simulation in Lublin. On that ground, the course on NM into the Faculty Development Program and undergraduate students’ education may be potentially taken under consideration at the Centre of Medical Simulation at the Medical University of Lublin.