Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

This physician takes the time to be humbled and amazed by the stories patients share

Zachary G. Jacobs, MD
Physician
June 13, 2019
18 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

STAT_LogoWhat if I told you that, as your doctor, I’d rather listen to your memoir than to your lungs? Or that while I find the sound of a beating heart a marvel to behold, I’m more interested in hearing the jazz song that you wrote or talking about the words tattooed on your left wrist. What if I asked not only about your symptoms, but also about your life, your narrative, and the story behind how you’ve owned more than 100 cars in your lifetime?

This is not to imply that I don’t care deeply about clinical medicine. I love being a doctor. As a hospitalist, I specialize in the care of acutely ill hospitalized adults, and I’m passionate about helping my patients on their road to recovery.

But when it comes right down to it, it’s the stories that keep me going. Illness can’t exist without narrative, and stories are the currency of medicine.

Sometimes the tales are uplifting, like the centenarian who tells everyone she meets that an aversion to shrimp was her secret to long life. Other times you have to look for the beauty beneath the sadness, like the time a homeless man told me that he calls his cardboard home “The Fortress.”

And sometimes the stories are heartbreaking, like discussing trade secrets of smoked pork ribs with a 35-year-old woman who was just denied a lifesaving organ transplant, her eyes full of tears as she argues the merits of a vinegar-based barbecue sauce she will likely never make again.

I am privileged to hear stories like these — intimate, extraordinary accounts of self — almost every day. Passionately attending to these narratives allows me to empathically connect with my patients and to stay resilient in the face of suffering by remembering why I became a doctor in the first place.

People choose careers in medicine to treat human beings — not their diagnoses — and to alleviate suffering of the body as well as of the mind and the soul. Western medicine has historically been rooted in an obstinate focus on disease processes rather than on the people with the disease, a tendency to treat the physical while ignoring the existential and the psychosocial. It’s hard to feel compassion toward a disease, so what you’re left with is mechanistic, depersonalized patient care.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the medical humanities were established in an effort to rehumanize clinical practice and teach budding doctors not only scientific and technical skills but also empathy and humanity. And while the number of health humanities programs has more than quadrupled in the past two decades, they remain fragmented and unstandardized. Establishing humanities as an integral and universal component of medical curricula is essential. Doctors need to learn the human side of health care. They need to be taught how to relate to their patients on a personal level. And there is no better way to connect meaningfully with patients than to listen to their stories and to fully receive them.

My belief in the importance of narrative is why I, like many other physicians, write creatively about my experiences in health care. It’s why I read the trainees I work with not only the latest scientific studies from JAMA and NEJM but also poetry by Emily Dickinson. It’s the reason I work with the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that believes in the power of story to treat a heartbroken health care system. And it’s why, when I meet patients in the hospital, I take the time to be humbled and amazed by the stories they share — stories of illness and often of suffering but also of love and triumph and the passion of a life well lived.

So don’t be surprised if your doctor wants to spend more time listening to your stories than to your organs. Don’t be offended when she or he asks not only about your cough or your rash but also your hopes and your dreams. About your secret to longevity, your cardboard fortress, or your personal opinion on barbecued meats.

Zachary G. Jacobs is a hospitalist. This article originally appeared in STAT News.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

How failing Step 1 helped me pass the boards. Twice.

June 13, 2019 Kevin 4
…
Next

How pharmacy-based primary care takes the low-hanging fruit

June 13, 2019 Kevin 11
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Hospitalist

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How failing Step 1 helped me pass the boards. Twice.
Next Post >
How pharmacy-based primary care takes the low-hanging fruit

Related Posts

  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Let’s share our stories about gun violence

    Barbara Meyer, MD, MPH
  • It is time to make the unvaccinated pay their fair share

    Hayward Zwerling, MD
  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Where are the patients? 

    Jennifer M. Sweeney
  • A perk of Medicare for all: More time for doctors and patients

    Rani Marx, MD and James G. Kahn, PhD

More in Physician

  • How excessively regulating doctors can harm patients

    Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD and James Lynch, MD
  • The alarming epidemic of physician burnout and how we can combat it

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • A retired physician’s battle with moral injury

    Hayward Zwerling, MD
  • Unveiling the secrets to effective resuscitation and overcoming obstacles

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • A tense family drama unfolds as a young daughter pursues unconventional career path

    Osmund Agbo, MD
  • Decoding the brain’s decision-making: insights for medical professions and strategies for success

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • Revealing America’s expansion: the dark truth of Native American suffering and unjustified abuses

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Georgia’s new law promoting truth and transparency in health care credentials

      Carmen Kavali, MD | Policy
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
    • Decoding name displays in health care: Privacy, identification, and compliance unveiled

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • Proactive risk management: a game-changer in preventing physician burnout

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • An inspiring tribute to an exceptional radiologist who made a lasting impact

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unfilled residency spots and the future of emergency medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How excessively regulating doctors can harm patients

      Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD and James Lynch, MD | Physician
    • AI-driven solutions for burnout, patient empathy, and worker shortage

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • How modern lifestyle changes are disrupting our immune systems

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • Empathy and awareness: Unveiling the hidden dangers of food allergies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The alarming epidemic of physician burnout and how we can combat it

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Hooray! A Clearer Estimate of Your Risk for Death Is Around the Corner
  • Transapical Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement Trial Raises Questions
  • Americans With Heart Disease Less Likely to Use Wearable Devices
  • Residents, Fellows at Mass General Brigham Vote to Unionize
  • Alzheimer's Drug Clears Major Hurdle Toward Full Approval

Meeting Coverage

  • Transapical Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement Trial Raises Questions
  • MitraClip Shines in Real-World, Core-Lab Data
  • Risankizumab Safe in Older Crohn's Disease Patients
  • How to Better Identify HER2-Low Breast Cancer
  • Higher Fetal Cortisol Levels Linked to Sleep Onset Delays
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • Revealing America’s expansion: the dark truth of Native American suffering and unjustified abuses

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Georgia’s new law promoting truth and transparency in health care credentials

      Carmen Kavali, MD | Policy
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
    • Decoding name displays in health care: Privacy, identification, and compliance unveiled

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • Proactive risk management: a game-changer in preventing physician burnout

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • An inspiring tribute to an exceptional radiologist who made a lasting impact

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unfilled residency spots and the future of emergency medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How excessively regulating doctors can harm patients

      Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD and James Lynch, MD | Physician
    • AI-driven solutions for burnout, patient empathy, and worker shortage

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • How modern lifestyle changes are disrupting our immune systems

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • Empathy and awareness: Unveiling the hidden dangers of food allergies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The alarming epidemic of physician burnout and how we can combat it

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

This physician takes the time to be humbled and amazed by the stories patients share
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...