Storytelling and Relational Identity: Lived Experiences in Medical Education (Part I)

Creative Language Technologies

This is episode #16 of the podcast and it’s Thursday, the 28th of April, 2022.

Today, I sat down with Dr. Sally Warmington, a retired medical doctor and narrative researcher from Melbourne, Australia with a deep interest in the encounter between health professionals and those seeking care. Her experiences as a doctor, student, teacher and patient inform her research at the intersection of anthropology, cultural theory and linguistics. Her book "Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" demonstrates the key role of storytelling in medical education and practice and its potential to promote collaborative, better quality care.

We had a fascinating discussion on many important topics covered in Sally’s book, but the episode went over the usual podcast duration, so I’ve decided to split it into two parts.

We started talking about the importance of storytelling in clinical context and that of identity work — how storytelling tells something about who we are in relation to others. The focus here is not only how people become doctors, but also what kinds of people emerge from contemporary clinical training and how students play an active part in their own identity construction. We also talked about the role the analyst plays in such research — their training, language, cultural orientation, memories as an investigator influencing the study. As investigators, Sally believes, we should apply what she calls “ethical mindfulness” — paying close attention to the participants, but also to our own sensations, perceptions and emotional responses, process which requires an acute self-awareness and an awareness of others.

In Part II, we talked about the connection between storytelling and empathy, its role in clinical settings and medical education, and the importance of helping students develop an awareness of the emotional and relational aspects of the clinical encounter.

This is Part I of the episode.

Show Notes:
- the role of stories and storytelling in clinical practice
- identity construction; identity dissonance
- empathy and the formation of professional identities
- “ethical mindfulness” and cognitive and sensory self-awareness in clinical practice
- the analyst’s role in clinical research

Note:
Link to Dr. Warmington’s book:

"Storytelling encounters as medical education: crafting relational identity" is available on the Routledge website:
https://www.routledge.com/Storytelling-Encounters-as-Medical-Education-Crafting-Relational-Identity/Warmington/p/book/9781032177007#