The Power of Story Slams: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Narrative Medicine Connecting, Encouraging and Comforting Healthcare Trainees and Professionals

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2182

Keywords:

Occupational Burnout, Narrative Medicine, Psychological Well-Being, Story Slams, Healthcare Trainees, Emotional Burnout, Patient-Centered Care, Thematic Patterns, Community Building, Medical Education

Abstract

Background: Narratives convey information and emotion, evoke understanding, empathy, and connection. Healthcare professionals can use narratives to reduce burnout, benefiting them, patients, and colleagues. Story slams are narrative sharing events used for group reflection, providing an opportunity for participants and listeners to improve their well-being by processing complex emotions and identities. Story slams have traditionally been popular with creative writers and nonprofit organizations.

Methods: Following a local event hosted by The Moth, the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine (LKSOM) Narrative Medicine program hosted nine story slams over five years with 93 presenters including students and health systems staff. Through a mixed-method analysis, the authors examined the stories for thematic patterns and surveyed presenters to investigate how the experience had impacted markers such as job satisfaction, stress levels, and connection to patients. Eleven presenters were interviewed to provide additional information about the impact they experienced.

Results: Patient-centered care, resilience, and the value of learning comprised over half of all themes presented. Following the event, many presenters experienced improved connections with patients, and everyone reported feeling neutral or increased satisfaction with their profession. The interviews conveyed participation, created a lasting impact, fostered a sense of community, and increased appreciation for diversity.

Conclusions: Overall, story slams nourish humanity and promote diversity, enthusiasm, and encouragement. This study and others suggest that story slams are inexpensive and effective events that can help reduce burnout and provide academic medical centers with a way to restore and cultivate community among students, physicians, and staff.

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The image is a bar chart titled "Breakdown of the Story Themes." It represents various themes from stories told during a narrative medicine event. The y-axis shows the number of stories (ranging from 0 to 25), and the x-axis lists the story themes. The most frequent themes are "Patient-centered care" with around 23 stories, followed by "Resilience" (15 stories), "Value of learning" (9 stories), and others such as "Gratitude," "Connection to patient," and "Advocacy." Less frequent themes include "Humor" and "Humility," with just one story each.

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Published

2024-09-30

How to Cite

Stringer, A., Liu, L., Marino, J., Mupparapu, A., Fergus, A., Rosenberg, N., Vitez, M., & Tuohy, B. (2024). The Power of Story Slams: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Narrative Medicine Connecting, Encouraging and Comforting Healthcare Trainees and Professionals. International Journal of Medical Students, 12(3), 239–245. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2182

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Vol. 12 No. 3 (2024)

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Original Article

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Copyright (c) 2024 Amy Stringer, Lisa Liu, Julia Marino, Archana Mupparapu, Anelisa Fergus, Naomi Rosenberg, Michael Vitez, Brian Tuohy

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