Narrative Medicine in Postgraduate Medical Education

Abstract

This chapter presents a practically minded conceptualization of the field of narrative medicine (NM) as it relates to postgraduate educators. To assist educators implement and deliver NM education to residents, the practices, principles, and paradoxes of NM are reviewed. The practices of NM are made explicit because educators have a fundamental responsibility to understand them when offering training in this discipline. Practices include sharing a narrative, close reading, and reflective writing. The principles of NM are discussed because, when applied, they fortify the practices and enable more success and enjoyment. The principles of NM stipulate the work should be experiential, relational, and programmatic. The paradoxes of NM are identified and explored because they can stymie the efforts of educators to teach and can have major consequences to the outcomes of the work. The implementation paradox, the credibility paradox, and the legitimacy paradox are discussed.