Storytelling is the Oldest Medical Technology | Laurel Braitman, PhD

The Doctor's Art

Storytelling is the oldest medical technology — so claims our guests on this episode, Laurel Braitman, PhD, an acclaimed author and Writer-in-Residence at Stanford School of Medicine. Laurel offers a uniquely qualified perspective on the matter, having grown up in a medical family and now mentoring clinicians everywhere to help them fulfill their writing goals. She received her doctorate in History and Anthropology of Science from MIT, and her most recent work is a 2023 memoir titled What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love. Over the course of our conversation, we explore the challenges Laurel has faced on her journey as an author, how creative writing can lead to better doctoring, and how we can find the courage to discover our own identities in the face of expectations others have of us.

In this episode, you will hear about:

• What it means to be Writer-in-Residence at Stanford Medical School - 2:06
• Why physicians write and how storytelling can help clinicians - 6:42
• How Laurel’s writing career began and her advice for how to break into the writing world - 14:43
• What it's like to be in the medical field as an “embedded outsider” - 23:15
• Laurel’s most recent book What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love, which details her experience of growing up with parents with high expectations and struggling through the grief of her father’s death - 28:15
• The importance of carving out time to reflect on your journey and your ‘why’ in the medical profession - 36:54
• Laurel’s advice for healthcare professionals who want to take the first step towards writing - 44:55

All are welcome to join Laurel’s Writing Medicine workshops, a pay-what-you-can public resource for healthcare professionals. Visit www.LaurelBraitman.com or www.WritingMedicine.org for more details.

Laurel Braitman is the author of several books, articles, and essays. You can find more at her website www.LaurelBraitman.com

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

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