Being a patient is a universal experience. Some people break a bone while playing as a child, while others are no stranger to the hospital and clinics due to chronic illness. Inevitably, things happen, and everyone becomes a patient at some point. However, for many, their identity does not extend beyond simply being a patient.
Appointments feel like an interrogation: being asked a million questions while a healthcare worker scribbles down notes, rarely making eye contact. While this method is a way to rapidly obtain relevant information, it leads to some important details being missed and makes the patient feel like a specimen being studied. Close-ended questions hyperfixated on the chief complaint rather than an open dialogue prevents the patient from casually sharing other relevant information in conversation that the provider normally would not ask about. It prevents the child from bringing up that sometimes the lights hurt her eyes, which could’ve eventually led to a migraine diagnosis. It prevents the teenager from explaining that she isn’t taking notes in class, not because she can’t focus, but because the whiteboard is blurry and she thought it was normal. It prevents the adult patient from mentioning that she always felt dizzy when her parents would blow dry her hair when she was little, leading to a POTS diagnosis if there had been further questioning.
All of these situations were ones I experienced while growing up. Without someone having an open conversation with me to learn my story, I never thought to bring up my symptoms of chronic illness or vision issues. To me, all of these symptoms were normal; I assumed everyone experienced them. By learning about my experiences and lifestyle, perhaps others would’ve noticed earlier that something was wrong.
Narrative medicine involves medical professionals placing an emphasis on learning the patient’s story and experiences, not just what they came into the clinic for that day. In addition to recognizing nuances early on that the patient may view unimportant, narrative medicine allows healthcare providers to form stronger connections with their patients. With a deeper understanding of the patient’s life, the provider earns the patient’s trust and comfortability as well as the ability to treat them holistically. They no longer feel like a case study, but rather a human being seeking personalized medical advice from a trusted provider. Narrative medicine enables providers to recognize connections between various aspects of their patients’ life and their health. This approach maximizes patient outcomes while validating them as an individual, improving the provider-patient relationship.
Unfortunately, in the American healthcare system, narrative medicine is difficult to implement. Doctors are expected to squeeze patients into thirty minutes – even fifteen minutes at times– to see as many as possible within a shift. This pressure from the fast-paced culture and not being able to spend time with patients often causes physicians to burnout. Regardless of systemic resistance, for the sake of both patients and their providers, patient-centered care is the ideal standard that should be strived for and eventually implemented world-wide.