Why storytelling and writing are so important in medicine

<p>"They needed the final story to let go of her body, yet retain her spirit.</p> <p>Looking back on it, that’s when I saw the greatest honor of all — the everyday honor of storytelling for our patients. Maybe that’s the only cure we have for death … translating what happens from the body into the world. Perhaps that is the last frontier of care: sharing the understanding of how we get to the end — just as much as how we got to the beginning. Maybe, we should reframe the last note we write for our patients — and make it the last story we share instead."</p> <p><a href= "https://health.usnews.com/doctors/giannina-garces-ambrossi-muncey-1103609" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Giannina L. Garces-Ambrossi Muncey</a> is a critical care physician.</p> <p>She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Your greatest role as a doctor? Storyteller." (<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/10/your-greatest-role-as-a-doctor-storyteller.html">https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/10/your-greatest-role-as-a-doctor-storyteller.html</a>)</p>