Creative Writing Increases Physician Observation Skills And Connection To Patien

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Creative Writing Increases Physician Observation Skills And

Connection To Patients

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53894

Teaching creative writing to residents in an intensive workshop at

Yale School of Medicine improved physicians' view of themselves,

their peers and their patients, and also promoted an increased

interest in writing and the residency program, according to a study

in the October issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Led by Reisman, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine

at Yale School of Medicine, the researchers conducted the study in

part to offset some of the negative effects contemporary medical

education can have on resident physicians, including

disillusionment, lack of emotional engagement with the mission of

medicine and a consequential lack of commitment to patients as

persons.

" We wanted to help residents become better physicians by reflecting

on their experiences and on what gives meaning to work and life, "

said Reisman. " The overall aim of the Yale Internal Medicine

Residency Writers' Workshop is to introduce a way for residency

programs to help trainees address conflicting emotions about their

professional roles and to cultivate a curiosity about their

patients' lives beyond their diseases. "

A two-day intensive workshop for 15 residents was conducted by

physician-writer Abraham Verghese. The Yale workshop focused less on

content and more on the quality of the writing itself. The residents

were taught to express emotion effectively through language, to

develop characters and lay out plots and to avoid common mistakes

that break the reader's engagement with the writing. Writing themes

included discontent, feelings of impotence as physicians and the

healing power of compassion.

" Residents who learn to craft narratives into polished and nuanced

pieces have the unique opportunity both to understand their own

experiences more deeply and to imagine more fully the experiences of

those they write about, " said Reisman. " Focusing on the craft of

writing provides a means of increasing one's powers of observation

and improving one's understanding of both self and others. "

Response from the focus group participants showed that writing was a

creative outlet from the rigors of medicine and that the workshop

created a sense of community among participants and enhanced both

self-awareness and awareness of patients' lives. There was also an

increased interest in writing and in the residency program.

One focus group participant said, " I didn't realize some of the

emotions I was feeling until writing it down. "

Reisman will co-direct the 4th Annual Writers' Workshop at Yale on

November 10 and 11. This year's workshop will include 12 to 14

residents from the Departments of Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and

Pediatrics. The workshop will be led by well-known surgeon-writer

Selzer.

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Reisman's co-authors on the study were Helena Hansen, M.D. and

Asghar Rastegar, M.D.

Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine: Vol. 21, 10 (October

2006)