D04 – Narrative Medicine and Mindful Gratitude in Mentorship and Work-Force Development

Summary

Mindfulness has been defined as “remembering” who you are and what is important, every moment of every day (Epstein, 2017). This is no easy task given the river of demands, distractions, and pressures we face at work and at home. This session invites participants to reflect on the educator-learner relationships through a lens of gratitude using narrative writing. This engaging and experiential session invites conversations within oneself and outwardly with other participants with compassion, tenderness and playfulness. Background/Rationale: Even before the pandemic, healthcare practitioners expressed experiences of isolation and loneliness, despite working with patients and teams. Perhaps this has to do with missed opportunities to talk about what is important in our work, the underlying values, and the appreciation of meaningful work with a lens of gratitude for self and colleagues. Narrative medicine approaches have been shown to open a window to deepened reflection through the close reading of texts and the invitation to write from carefully chosen prompts. The practice of sharing written narratives with colleagues can deepen relationships and encourage curiosity across teams in an often fragmented workplace. The session will begin with an overview of narrative approaches to team-based healthcare education, followed by the sharing of two stories of mentor relationships. Participants will be invited to mine the stories for key themes, meaningful inspiration, and emotional resonance. This will be followed by an invitation to write and additional reflection time for the participants to share their own creations. Finally, the presenters will underscore the value of narrative writing approaches to healthcare education, team cohesion, and the enhancement of vitality, meaning and resilience in healthcare practitioners and teams.