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Experiencing Narrative Medicine: Enhancing Patient-Centered Care, Reflexivity and Well-being in General Practice

WednesdayJuly 1st5:10 - 6:10231 / 232 M

Solène BLANCHIN and Alix FERNand-SCHERE

Narrative Medicine (NM), conceptualized by Rita Charon at Columbia University, is an innovative interdisciplinary approach that centers on the patient's illness experience through storytelling. By cultivating narrative competence—the ability to recognize, absorb, interpret, and be moved by patients’ stories—NM complements traditional evidence-based medicine. Systematic reviews have demonstrated its benefits, including increased empathy, reflexivity, interprofessional connection, and prevention of burnout. Although widely implemented in hospital settings, NM remains underutilized in primary care, however holistic, patient-centered models predominate and clinician resilience is paramount. This workshop draws on four years of experience delivering NM training to medical students.This workshop aims to: Strengthen general practitioners’ soft skills through experiential engagement with NM’s three-phase method. Raise awareness about NM’s formative effects, including attentive listening, interpretation, empathy, relational ethics and reflexivity. Share effective tools for establishing NM Workshop in primary care settings.The workshop employs an active, experiential, and reflective approach structured around NM’s three-part pedagogy: close reading of a literary text, guided reflective or creative writing, and text sharing. 1. Introduction 2. Interactive brainstorming (word cloud) eliciting responses to “What helped you develop relational and communication skills during medical school?” and “What was missing in your relational and communication skills training?” 3. Active participation in a characteristic NM workshop involving literary reading, guided writing, and voluntary sharing. 4. Group reflection exploring how the experience influences clinical practice, patient-provider relationships, and professional identity, fostering sustainable integration of narrative skills. 5. Theoretical input on narrative skills : attention, interpretation, emotional awareness, affiliation, empathy… 6. Practical tools for implementing NM Workshop in participants' institutions.Participants will gain first-hand experience of NM, recognize its formative impact, and acquire concrete resources and strategies for integrating narrative pedagogy into their practice.Integrating Narrative Medicine into medical practice supports the development of critical clinical skills for general practionners, grounded in humanity, ultimately fostering more empathetic, reflective, and resilient healthcare professionals.