Foundational Narrative Medicine Virtual Workshop, October 18-20 2024

A Virtual Workshop and Online Course

Banner image for the Foundational Narrative Medicine Virtual Workshop

Join us for our first virtual workshop since 2022 and connect with others from around the world for a foundational exploration of narrative medicine.

Registration is now closed. Inquire below about the waitlist!

Inquire About the Waitlist!

Come experience the foundational elements of narrative medicine presented by our faculty and practiced together with participants from all over the world in our immersive and intimate online format!

We are excited to share this learning experience in a virtual format that brings together participants from all over the world for a weekend of intensive skill-building in foundational elements of narrative medicine practice. The Division of Narrative Medicine offers an transformative virtual experience, including lectures, small group work, literature, educational and networking resources, continuing education credits, and direct interaction with narrative medicine faculty. Live virtual sessions combine with asynchronous learning modalities to deliver an introduction to the field that provides the same learning, connection, and profound experience as traditional in-person workshops.  

Full schedule and details, including faculty presentations, tuition rates, our discount for cohorts, and information about online resources are listed below!

Workshop Description & Objectives

This intensive workshop will offer rigorous skill-building in narrative competence and provides an intensive introductory experience to the methods and skills of narrative medicine. These practices are then applicable to unlimited clinical and non-clinical settings. Participants will experience plenary presentations by the founders of the Division of Narrative Medicine in both live and asynchronous formats and will engage with faculty, trained facilitators, and each other live via Zoom for interactive presentations, Q&A, and small group work.

Narrative medicine recognizes the aesthetic capabilities of its practitioners as fundamental instruments necessary for effective care. Acts of perception and attention ignite our narrative practice. Seeing, hearing, sensing, taking in that which we witness begins the process toward healing, and narrative medicine training attunes us to those skills within ourselves. We grow toward our own powers to attend to our patients through the schooled avenues of close reading, deep listening, and concentrated witnessing of works of art.

Participants will learn effective techniques for attentive listening, adopting others’ perspectives, accurate representation, and reflective reasoning. Plenary presentations by faculty open up themes of how stories and art work, exploring concepts such as creativity, ethics, bearing witness, and empathy, while the small groups practice rigorous skills in close reading, creative writing, and responding to the writings of others. Close reading is an integral part of the workshop as is short prompted writing and discussion.

Participants will gain access to our online resources prior to the start of the workshop where all information necessary to prepare for the weekend is provided, including literary texts, film, visual art, and seminar articles in the field of narrative medicine by leading educators.

 The Workshop live content will be held on Friday between 5:00pm-8:00p, Saturday between 9:30a-5p and Sunday between 9:30a-4p (all times Eastern Daylight Time).

Narrative Medicine

Narrative medicine recognizes the aesthetic capabilities of its practitioners as fundamental instruments necessary for effective care. Acts of perception and attention ignite our narrative practice. Seeing, hearing, sensing, taking in that which we witness begins the process toward healing, and narrative medicine training attunes us to those skills within ourselves. We grow toward our own powers to attend to our patients through the schooled avenues of close reading, deep listening, and concentrated witnessing of works of art.

The effective care of the sick requires deep and singular knowledge of the patient, competence, and commitment of the physician, and a sturdy bond of trust between the two. Despite the many sociocultural and professional factors that may divide doctors and patients, and the impact of political and economic pressures on health care as a whole, effective medical practice needs to replace hurried and impersonal care with careful listening and empathic attention. By fortifying clinical practice with the ability to recognize, absorb, interpret, and be moved by stories of illness, narrative training enables practitioners to comprehend patients’ experiences and to understand what they themselves undergo as clinicians. Professionalism, cultural competence, bioethical competence, interpersonal communication skills, self-reflective practice, and ability to work with health care teams can be strengthened by increasing narrative competence.

Many persons engaged in health care, including patients, providers, and literary scholars, are seeking fresh means to engage in powerful, person-centered care. Attentive listening, creative contact, singular accuracy, and personal fidelity are often missing from the routines of our practices. Among the many responses to the failures of our current health care system is Narrative Medicine. Developed at Columbia University in 2000, Narrative Medicine fortifies clinical practice with the ability to recognize, absorb, interpret, and be moved by stories of illness. We realize that the care of the sick unfolds in stories, and we recognize that the central event of health care occurs when the patient gives an account of self and the clinician skillfully receives it. Our experience and research have shown that the clinical routines and teaching methods of narrative medicine can transform practice and training. Time-tested teaching approaches can help participants to convey to their students the skills of empathic interviewing, reflective practice, narrative ethics, and self-awareness.

Work and study with us virtually for a weekend.  Connect with colleagues from the world over to learn the narrative skills of close reading, attentive listening, and creative writing. Find out how your own imagination can reveal things you know unawares. Experience the deep bonds that can form among clinicians and those who care about health care in short periods of small group intensive narrative work. Recognize and be recognized as ones who have care within them.

Participants Will: 

  • Develop the narrative competence to nourish empathic doctor-patient relationships
  • Learn narrative communication strategies for patient-centered and life-framed practice
  • Build habits of reflective practice that enhance professionalism and nurture clinical communities
  • Acquire pedagogic skills to teach methods of narrative medicine
  • Replace isolation with affiliation, cultivate enduring collegial alliances, and reveal meaning in clinical practice

Audience

We invite nurses, physicians, physician assistants, dentists, chaplains, social workers, therapists, public health professionals and other clinicians, as well as writers, academics, scholars, and all those interested in the intersection of narrative and medicine to join us. By combining these groups of participants, we can all learn how to unify what are sometimes divided efforts in patient care, integrating the ethical awareness and sensibility with the clinical recognition that can ensue.

The workshop will be held on Friday between 5:00pm-8:00pm, Saturday between 9:00am-5pm and Sunday between 9:00am-4pm (all times Eastern Daylight Time). Our preliminary schedule and resources, tuition rates, and featured faculty are listed below. For additional information, email Program Manager Joseph Eveld at jhe2109@cumc.columbia.edu.

Asynchronous Resources:

(available via University secured online platform several weeks before workshop dates)

  • Orientation: Workshop Guidelines, Introductory information, and Welcome Board
  • Participant Profile: Voluntary, Including Bio/Contact Info/Headshot
  • Discussion/Resource Boards to connect across Professional Backgrounds
  • Discussion Boards for Pre-Recorded and Resource Content
  • Pre-readings and Course Literature    

Recorded Lectures:

  • "Writing in the Clinical Context and Beyond" by Nellie Hermann, MFA
  • "Narrative Ethics: New Clinical Approaches" by Craig Irvine, PhD

Live Schedule (all times Eastern Daylight Time):

Friday October 18th

  • 5:00-6:30pm: Health Care in Tormented Times: Powers of Narrative Medicine | Rita Charon, MD, PhD (live via Zoom)
  • 7:00–8:00pm: Small Group Seminars | Zoom Small Group Breakouts

Saturday October 19th

  • 9:30-11:00am: Small Group Seminars | Zoom Small Group Breakouts
  • 1:00-2:30pm: Film and the Narrative Medicine Toolbox | Maura Spiegel, PhD (live via Zoom)
  • 3:30-5:00pm: Small Group Seminars | Zoom Small Group Breakouts
  • 5:30-6:30pm: Drop-In Faculty Q&A for Recorded Lectures (Optional) | Zoom with Nellie Hermann and Craig Irvine

Sunday October 20th

  • 9:30-11:00am: Small Group Seminars | Zoom Small Group Breakouts
  • 12:30-2:00pm: Bearing Witness to Yourself in the Work | Deepthiman Gowda, MD, MPH, MS (live via Zoom)
  • 2:30-3:00pm: Small Group Wrap-Up & Farewell | Zoom Small Group Breakouts
  • 3:00-4:00pm: Weekend Wrap-Up | Everyone Together on Zoom

Faculty

  • Nellie Hermann, MFA

    • Lecturer in Medical Humanities and Ethics at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons

    Nellie Hermann is Lecturer in Medical Humanities and Ethics at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and Creative Director of Columbia Narrative Medicine. She has published two novels, The Cure for Grief  and The Season of Migration, was a recipient of a NEA Literature grant and a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library, and in 2018-19 was an inaugural fellow at Columbia's Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris, France.

    Headshot of Nellie Hermann

  • Craig Irvine, PhD

    • Co-Director and Lecturer in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University

    Craig Irvine, PhD, is a founder and Co-Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. He holds a doctorate in philosophy. For more than 15 years, he has been designing and teaching cultural competency, ethics, Narrative Medicine, and Humanities and Medicine curricula for residents, medical students, physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, dentists, and other health professionals. He has over 20 years of experience researching the history of philosophy, phenomenology, and narrative ethics, and over 25 years of experience teaching ethics, humanities, the history of philosophy, logic, and narrative medicine at the graduate, undergraduate, and preparatory school levels. He has published articles in the areas of ethics, residency education, and literature and medicine and has presented at numerous national and international conferences on these and other topics.

    Craig Irvine Headshot

  • Rita Charon, MD, PhD

    • Professor and Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics; Chief, Division of Narrative Medicine

    Rita Charon is a general internist and literary scholar who originated the field of narrative medicine. She is Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. She completed the MD at Harvard in 1978 and the PhD in English at Columbia in 1999, concentrating on narratology and the works of Henry James. Her research focuses on the consequences of narrative medicine practice, narrative medicine pedagogy, and health care team effectiveness. At Columbia, she directs the Foundations of Clinical Practice faculty seminar, the Virginia Apgar Academy for Medical Educators, the Narrative and Social Medicine Scholarly Projects Concentration Track, the required and elective Narrative Medicine curriculum for the medical school, and Columbia Commons: Collaborating Across Professions, a medical-center-wide partnership devoted to health care team effectiveness.  She inaugurated and teaches in the Master of Science in Narrative Medicine graduate program at Columbia. She has lectured and served as Visiting Professor at many medical schools and universities in the US and abroad, teaching narrative medicine theory and practice. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio residency, and research funding from the NIH, the NEH, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and several additional private foundations. She was chosen by the National Endowment for the Humanities to deliver the 2018 Jefferson Lecture, “the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.” Dr. Charon has published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Narrative, Henry James Review, Poetics Today, The Drama Review, Partial Answers, and Literature and Medicine. She is the author of Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness (Oxford University Press, 2006) and co-author of The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine (Oxford University Press, 2017). She is co-editor of Stories Matter: The Role of Narrative in Medical Ethics (Routledge, 2002) and Psychoanalysis and Narrative Medicine (SUNY Press, 2008). 

    Headshot of Rita Charon

  • Maura Spiegel, PhD

    • Senior Lecturer in the English and Comparative Literature Department and Co-Director of Narrative Medicine at Columbia

    Maura Spiegel, PhD, is Senior Lecturer of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where she teaches courses on fiction and film, and is a founding Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine. She is the co-author of The Grim Reader: Writings on Death, Dying and Living On (Anchor/Doubleday), The Breast Book: An Intimate and Curious History (Workman), which was a Book-of-the-Month Club Quality Paperbacks selection. She co-edited the journal Literature and Medicine (Johns Hopkins University Press) with Rita Charon, MD, PhD, for seven years. She has written for The New York Times, and has published essays on the history of the emotions, Charles Dickens, diamonds in the movies, among many other topics. Her most recent publication is a book about the life and films of Sidney Lumet for St. Martin’s Press, Sidney Lumet: A Life. 

    Headshot of Maura Spiegel

  • Deepthiman Gowda, MD, MPH, MS

    • Assistant Dean for Medical Education at Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and Clinical Director of Narrative Medicine at Columbia University

    Deepthiman Gowda, MD, MPH, MS, is Director of Clinical Practice of the Program in Narrative Medicine and is the first Assistant Dean for Medical Education at the newly founded Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, where he is working to introduce Narrative Medicine into the curriculum. To date, Dr. Gowda’s efforts have focused on care to underserved communities, clinical skills education, interprofessional education, and narrative medicine. Dr. Gowda is a general internist, photographer, and researcher looking at the use of visual art in health care settings. He has also conducted research on the effects of introducing narrative medicine methods into primary care clinics in Manhattan on team function and is a former Macy Scholar. 

    Headshot of Deepthiman Gowda

Comments from Recent Participants

I was an absolute novice when I arrived at the basic workshop that Friday afternoon. I had never written a thing. I didn’t even know what a prompt was. But after the small group sessions and the other exercises were complete, narrative upon narrative began to percolate to the surface. Two days after that session I wrote my first contemporaneous narrative and I haven’t stopped writing since. There were many superb writers in my small group. But I never felt that the sessions were a competition. They were about each one of us being a little bit better at telling the story then we were before the session started. This is the gift of the Columbia Narrative Medicine faculty – helping each be better, feeling free to take risks, to try things out, and understanding the value and beauty of close, critical reading colleagues.

Andre Lijoi, MD
Associate Program Director WellSpan York Hospital Family Medicine Program/Clinical Associate Professor, Penn State University School of Medicine

I am seeing more the value of narrative medicine–bringing us beyond the superficial to appreciating more the richness and complexity of our lives

Tom McNeil, Social Worker
Cape Breton Cancer Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada

I wish I could attend a workshop every few months. There’s something about having a community of practice that replenishes and inspires. The workshop made me more confident to move forward with [my narrative] project: Why not me? Why not now?

Kathy Kirkland, Palliative Care Physician
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH, USA

Tuition

  • $1000 for participants with income over $100,000/year
  • $850 for income between $45,000 and $100,000/year
  • $500 for income under $45,000/year

Tuition includes access to all live and asynchronous content, as well as literature and pre-readings. Our Early Bird Discount applies $50 off to each tier, while active.

Discount for Cohorts

Based on our experience that cohorts of participants from an institution are better able to continue their narrative learning and to ignite narrative projects at their home institution, we offer a discount of $100 off the tuition for each individual who attends with a cohort of two or more. If you plan to enroll with a cohort, reach out to Program Manager Joseph Eveld at jhe2109@cumc.columbia.edu for more information on how to register for the discount.

Continuing Education Credits

AMA Continuing Medical Education

The Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons designates this live activity for 13.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

International activities for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

Physicians may earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for participation in some international activities. As of this writing, the AMA has agreements with the European Union of Medical Specialists and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Information about the different ways to earn AMA PRA credit through international activities can be found on the AMA website at www.ama-assn.org/go/internationalcme

Continuing Dental Education

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine is an ADA CERP recognized provider 5/1/2022-6/30/2026. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors; nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to ADA CERP at www.ada.org/goto/cerp.

Participants: Continuing Education credits awarded for participation in the CE activity may not apply toward license renewal in all states. It is the responsibility of each participant to verify the requirements of his/her licensing board(s) and to report credits to the appropriate authority.

Continuing Nursing Education Credits

Nursing Continuing Professional Development credits will be provided commensurate to each day's learning activities.

Learning Outcome: 

After the workshop, at least 80% of the attendees will be able to discuss and demonstrate the practical applications and strategies of Narrative Medicine through active participation in workshop activities such as reflection, narrative practices, creative projects and interactive group discussions.

NCPD Disclosure Statement:

New York Presbyterian is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. 

This course requires participant’s full program attendance and completion of any required course documents.

The Planning Committee, presenters, faculty, authors and content reviewers have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Disclosure forms are required and have been reviewed for any issues.

Speakers are required to present balanced and unbiased presentations. The presentation content has been reviewed and any bias has been eliminated.

Accredited status does not imply endorsement by NewYork Presbyterian or ANCC Commission on Accreditation of any commercial products displayed in conjuction with this program 

There is no commercial support for this program.

Continuing Social Work Education Credits

A total of 14 CE contact hours will be awarded to NY, NJ, and CT licensed social workers*and NY psychologists who have met the requirements described below.

 

● 11.5 Hours, Live- Online

● 2.5 Hours, Self-Study

 

Social Workers: CSSW is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. Provider #SW‐0021

 

*Social workers from other states, please confirm with your state licensing board. Please note that we do not specify type of credits (general, cultural competence, clinical, etc.)

 

Psychologists: CSSW- OPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists. Provider #PSY-0194.

 

*Psychologists from other states, please confirm with your state licensing board.

 

CE Certificate Requirements & Distribution

Please note that in order to receive your CE certificate, you must attend the full conference and complete the feedback evaluation in accordance with NYSED regulations. Please note that NYSED does not permit partial credit to be awarded.

 

Attendance: Plan accordingly to log-in on time and remain for the duration of the conference. There is a 10-minute grace period at the start OR end of each session. Additionally, attendees must pass the post-test quest for the recorded lectures by 85% within a maximum of 3 attempts. Participants who do not meet the attendance or post-test requirements will not receive a CE certificate or refund*.

 

CE Distribution: Evaluation and Certificate forms will be distributed via email within 2 weeks of receiving materials from Narrative Medicine to those meeting the attendance requirements above. If you do not receive your CE by November 8, 2024, then please email swope@columbia.edu.

Disabilities

Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to for this event, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 212-854-2388 or disability@columbia.edu at least 10 days in advance of the event. We will do our best to arrange accommodations received after this deadline but cannot guarantee them.

Share This Workshop

Foundational Narrative Medicine Virtual Workshop October 18-20, 2024: #fallNMworkshop

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