Scientific, evidence-based medicine is increasingly seen as fundamental to providing effective healthcare, but narrative-based medicine sheds light on social and interpersonal aspects of the practitioner-patient interaction which can also greatly affect healthcare outcomes. The philosophies underlying these two approaches seem to contrast, yet thos

Scientific, evidence-based medicine is increasingly seen as fundamental to providing effective healthcare, but narrative-based medicine sheds light on social and interpersonal aspects of the practitioner-patient interaction which can also greatly affect healthcare outcomes. The philosophies underlying these two approaches seem to contrast, yet those who can integrate both into their practice are among the most successful medical professionals. Integrating Narrative Medicine and Evidence-based Medicine provides answers to the key question of how medical practitioners can best put both approaches into practice. It anticipates a future where evidence-based practice will be expected of all medical professionals, but contends that the integration of a narrative-based approach will also be crucial, presenting a unique perspective on structuring the patient-professional encounter for optimum results. It develops a cultural analysis and socio-cultural theory of the science of healing, and describes an efficient method by which medical practitioners can find and use medical research at the point of care with current technology and skills. This addresses the need for translational science - moving research into practice - identified by the National Institutes of Health. This book will be essential reading for educators of medical students and postgraduate trainees, behavioral scientists, psychologists, social scientists working in medical settings, and health managers and administrators. Medical students and postgraduate trainees will also find it useful in their learning.

This book explains how narrative medicine can improve evidence based medicine (EBM), making it more effective and efficient, giving patients better quality of life and offering more satisfaction to all health care providers. It discusses not only the disease experienced by the person who is ill, but also focuses on the context and the culture, and investigates how narrative medicine can make other disciplines around the globe more applicable, less manipulative, and more “scientific”. Only by integrating the narrative aspects, can EBM become more effective and efficient, with fewer uncured patients, more satisfied patients with a better quality of life, and satisfaction for all health care providers. Every chapter is divided into two main sections: the first presents the latest research in the field, with comments and interviews with experts, while the second section provides a list of practical exercises and tasks. The book is intended for anyone with an interest in caring for and curing patients: all care providers of care, physicians, general practitioners, specialists nurses, psychotherapists, counselors, social workers, providers of aid, healthcare managers, scientific societies, academics and researchers.

This book examines all aspects of narrative medicine and its value in ensuring that, in an age of evidence-based medicine defined by clinical trials, numbers, and probabilities, clinical science is firmly embedded in the medical humanities in order to foster the understanding of clinical cases and the delivery of excellent patient care. The medical humanities address what happens to us when we are affected by a disease and narrative medicine is an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the importance of patient narratives in bridging various divides, including those between health care professionals and patients. The book covers the genesis of the medical humanities and of narrative medicine and explores all aspects of their role in improving healthcare. It describes how narrative medicine is therapeutic for the patient, enhances the patient–doctor relationship, and allows the identification, via patients' stories, of the feelings and experiences that are characteristic for each disease. Furthermore, it explains how to use narrative medicine as a real scientific tool. Narrative Medicine will be of value for all caregivers: physicians, nurses, healthcare managers, psychotherapists, counselors, and social workers. “Maria Giulia Marini takes a unique and innovative approach to narrative medicine. She sees it as offering a bridge – indeed a variety of different bridges – between clinical care and ‘humanitas’. With a sensitive use of mythology, literature and metaphor on the one hand, and scientific studies on the other, she shows how the guiding concept of narrative might bring together the fragmented parts of the medical enterprise”. John Launer, Honorary Consultant, Tavistock Clinic, London UK

This book presents case-based descriptions of models for the inclusive, multispecialty and multidisciplinary clinical care of complex cases. Cases range from primary care patients with complex systemic medical and psychiatric comorbidity, to those requiring specialty care, to those with potentially terminal illnesses. While each category and case has its unique requirements often necessitating different models of care, the commonalities in approaching complex clinical situations is underscored. Extended case narratives written by the treating physicians, summarizing both the course of clinical care and physicians' reflections on the challenges of managing complex patients, comprise the bulk of the book. Five additional chapters on systems issues associated with care of complex patients, together with a chapter on end of life considerations, a narrative analysis of the physicians reflections about complex patients, and a concluding chapter are prominently included to anchor the case narratives. Written by experts in the field, these descriptions form unique models for assessing and treating complex cases. Integrated Care for Complex Patients is a useful guide for all health practitioners and health administrators who are responsible for clinically complex cases, including physicians in primary care and psychiatry, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and psychologists.

This book assembles many of the foremost writers and clinicians in the field of team-based primary care to share their own relational reflections. It features narratives from fields such as integrated behavioral health, integrated primary care, primary care behavioral health, medical family therapy, health psychology, primary care psychology, and clinical social work. The key focus of the chapters are the relationships that are formed during primary care delivery. The book is organized into six core chapters: Family of Origin, Teachers and Mentors, Our Patients and Ourselves, Colleagues and Collaborators, Clinician as Patient, and Death and Loss. Each chapter contains a variety of styles and formats of narrative medicine, including personal reflections, story-telling, and poetry. Connections in the Clinic will be of interest to a wide audience of clinicians and educators dedicated to a reflective or story-telling approach to healing.

Unlike any existing studies of the medical humanities, The Chief Concern of Medicinebrings to the examination of medical practices a thorough---and clearly articulated---exposition of the nature of narrative. The book builds on the work of linguistics, semiotics, narratology, and discourse theory and examines numerous literary works and narrative "vignettes" of medical problems, situations, and encounters. Throughout, the book presents usable expositions of the ways storytelling organizes itself to allow physicians and other healthcare workers (and even patients themselves) to be more attentive to and self-conscious about the information---the "narrative knowledge"---of the patient's story.