• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

33 Charts

  • About
    • What is 33 Charts?
    • Bryan Vartabedian MD
  • Blog
  • 33mail
  • Foci
    • Social/Public Media
    • Physicians
    • Patients
    • Hospitals
    • Information
    • Process/Flow
    • Technology
    • Digital culture
    • Future Medicine
  • The Public Physician
Physicians

Narrative Medicine and the Parallel Chart

February 9, 2011 By Bryan Vartabedian · Reading Time: < 1 minutes

This is something.  From one of my fav medical magazines, Proto comes an interview with Rita Charon, an internist and literary scholar at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.  She has initiated a new program in narrative medicine where medical students and clinicians fashion clinical experiences into narratives that reflect not only their points of view but also the patient’s.  Charon’s interview reflects her belief that personal narrative can change the way a doctor thinks about her patients and herself.  Amen.

And anyone who can discuss Henry James in the context of medicine has my ear.

Most interesting was the suggestion of a parallel chart.  Students and doctors are encouraged to write about clinical experiences that may not necessarily be appropriate in the medical record.  The experience is intended to expose unique dimensions of patient care.

I was surprised to see the correlation of these narrative processes with clinical outcomes.  I’m wondering if such a beautifully conceived concept needs scientific validation?  The quantification of subjective, human expression may prove to be a slippery fish.

This idea should be taken public in some way.  Narrative medicine and social health would make wonderful partners.  Publicly available, privacy-protected parallel charts that allow social dialog might narrow the gap in the doctor-patient disconnect.

Perhaps 33 charts is something of a parallel chart.  33 parallel charts.

Related Articles

  • Narrative Medicine and Blood Pressure
  • Can a Patient Teach Medical School?
  • Self-Surfing Patients

Tagged With: Medical students, Patients, Writing

Related Articles

  • Narrative Medicine and Blood Pressure
  • Can a Patient Teach Medical School?
  • Self-Surfing Patients

Primary Sidebar

Bryan Vartabedian, MD

Bryan Vartabedian, MD
Bryan Vartabedian is the Chief Pediatrics Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin and one of health care’s influential
voices on technology & medicine.
Learn More

Popular Articles

  • The Fate of Fired Cleveland Clinic Resident Lara Kollab
  • Cures Act Final Rule – How It Will Change Medicine
  • 12 Things About Doximity You Probably Didn’t Know
  • Should Physicians Give Their Cell Phone Number to Patients?
  • Doximity Dialer Video – Telemedicine’s Latest Power Player

Sign up for 33mail newsletter

Featured Articles

Doctors and the Endemic Culture of Permission

The Rise of Medicine’s Creative Class

Reactive and Creative Spaces

The Case for New Physician Literacies in the Digital Age

Doctors and social media: Damned if you engage, damned if you don’t

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Footer

What is 33 Charts?

With a mashup of curated and original content that crosses the spaces of digital health, media, communication, technology, patient experience, digital culture, and the humanities, 33 charts offers unique insight and analysis on the changing face of medicine.

Founded in 2009 as a center of community and thought leadership for the issues doctors face in a digital world, 33 charts was included in the National Library of Medicine permanent web archive in 2014.
Learn More

Foci

  • Digital culture
  • Digital Health
  • EHR/Health IT
  • Future Medicine
  • Hospitals
  • Information
  • Patients
  • Physicians
  • Process/Flow
  • Quality
  • Social/Public Media
  • Technology

Copyright © 2023 · 33 Charts · Privacy Policy