Pre-Conference Workshop: Healing the Healers Through Narrative-Based Medicine (79)
Tracks
| Sunday, April 19, 2026 |
| 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
| Ottawa Art Gallery, Alma Duncan Room |
Overview
Dr. Aisha Husain, Dr. Amita Dayal
Ottawa Art Gallery, Alma Duncan Salon
Ottawa Art Gallery, Alma Duncan Salon
Details
Healthcare systems face entrenched challenges that contribute to physician burnout, distress, and poorer patient outcomes. Narrative-Based Medicine (NBM) offers an evidence-informed approach to restoring meaning, purpose, and well-being in clinical practice. This interactive session introduces participants to core NBM principles and practical tools shown to enhance clinician well-being and patient care. Drawing on outcomes from a successful faculty workshop, participants will engage in guided reading, reflective writing, and discussion, and will leave with a personal action plan for integrating Narrative-Based Medicine (NBM) into their clinical and teaching contexts.
Learning Objectives: Describe the rationale for using NBM in cultivating well-being; Apply at least two NBM tools to your practice
Fee:
$0 for CAHH members
$25 for non-members
Speaker
Dr. Amita Dayal
Amita Dayal Mpc
Pre-Conference Workshop: Healing the Healers Through Narrative-Based Medicine (79)
Dr. Aisha Husain
Assistant Professor
University Of Toronto
Healing the Healers Through Narrative-Based Medicine
Abstract
Background
Myriad, entrenched healthcare challenges are straining physicians in numerous ways, contributing to burnout and distress, medical error and poorer outcomes for patients. Unfortunately, most interventions proposed to date have not been shown to mitigate these effects (Fullerton, 2024; Linder, 2024).
The WHO call to action includes supporting physicians to rediscover meaning and purpose. This is a practice that is exceedingly well-supported by the practice of Narrative-Based Medicine (NBM;Charon, 2000). In fact, NBM has been shown to not only improve clinician welfare, but improve patient outcomes, too (Peterkin, 2012; Lijoi & Tovar, 2020; Murphy, 2015).
We developed and piloted a workshop for clinical Family Medicine faculty at the University of Toronto to introduce the practice of NBM and provide practical ways they might integrate the practice into their worklives. Thirty-three% of respondents were initially unsure that NBM cultivated well-being and only 37% were confident in their knowledge for NBM (n=10). Following participation,100% of participants agreed NBM could cultivate well-being, 94% agreed that it impacts well-being, and 94% were open to trying it in their practice. Further workshops (n=24) showed similar findings.
Purpose
The aim is to immerse participants in evidence-informed NBM approaches that have been shown to enhance well-being. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a personal action plan for weaving NBM into their practice and teaching.
Instructional Methods
- Group warm-up
- Didactics on the rationale of employing NBM; the tools for clinician well-being
- Think-pair-share to generate barriers of NBM; group discussion
- Close reading with main group + group analysis
- Writing prompt for free writing, then debrief in small groups
- Self-reflection on what NBM tool to try in their setting
- Final guided group discussion to share the factors influencing shifts in perspectives of participants’ well-being with NBM
Myriad, entrenched healthcare challenges are straining physicians in numerous ways, contributing to burnout and distress, medical error and poorer outcomes for patients. Unfortunately, most interventions proposed to date have not been shown to mitigate these effects (Fullerton, 2024; Linder, 2024).
The WHO call to action includes supporting physicians to rediscover meaning and purpose. This is a practice that is exceedingly well-supported by the practice of Narrative-Based Medicine (NBM;Charon, 2000). In fact, NBM has been shown to not only improve clinician welfare, but improve patient outcomes, too (Peterkin, 2012; Lijoi & Tovar, 2020; Murphy, 2015).
We developed and piloted a workshop for clinical Family Medicine faculty at the University of Toronto to introduce the practice of NBM and provide practical ways they might integrate the practice into their worklives. Thirty-three% of respondents were initially unsure that NBM cultivated well-being and only 37% were confident in their knowledge for NBM (n=10). Following participation,100% of participants agreed NBM could cultivate well-being, 94% agreed that it impacts well-being, and 94% were open to trying it in their practice. Further workshops (n=24) showed similar findings.
Purpose
The aim is to immerse participants in evidence-informed NBM approaches that have been shown to enhance well-being. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a personal action plan for weaving NBM into their practice and teaching.
Instructional Methods
- Group warm-up
- Didactics on the rationale of employing NBM; the tools for clinician well-being
- Think-pair-share to generate barriers of NBM; group discussion
- Close reading with main group + group analysis
- Writing prompt for free writing, then debrief in small groups
- Self-reflection on what NBM tool to try in their setting
- Final guided group discussion to share the factors influencing shifts in perspectives of participants’ well-being with NBM
Biography
Aisha Husain is a rural comprehensive family physician practicing in Uxbridge. She is an Assistant Professor at both UofT and Queen's. She has taught and mentored learners of all stages in their meical education journey as well as faculty. Aisha completed an Advanced Certificate in Narrative-based Medicine at UofT. Her current areas of interest in medical education includes advocating for FM specialty sustainability by exploring the role of narrative medicine to re-ignite joy.
COI Disclosure: I do not have an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with any for-profit or not-for-profit organizations
COI Disclosure: I do not have an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with any for-profit or not-for-profit organizations
