disease vs. illness – MeaningWell

Thursday Review: “Taking Suffering Seriously: A New Role for the Medical Case History”

The first purpose of clinical medicine, Dr. William J. Donnelly quotes, is to relieve human suffering.1 Why, then, does the education and practice of mainstream medicine say almost nothing about patient suffering, other than pain relief?

January 10, 2019By meaningwell Thursday Review disease vs. illness, medical records, narrative skills, patient-centered care, patient-centered communication, personal expectations, subjective data, suffering

Thursday Review: “Restoring the Patient’s Voice: The Therapeutics of Illness Narratives”

The bulk of my work is wrapped up in teaching how stories can be useful in clinical situations. I believe that stories and storytelling make life better and more meaningful. I tend, though, to downplay narrative work that can’t explicitly help doctors, nurses, and administrators serve patients more effectively. I suppose that comes from a […]

May 31, 2018By meaningwell Nursing, Personal, Thursday Review analytic mode, autobiography, depersonalization, disease vs. illness, disruption, evidence-based medicine, experience, expertise, identity, illness talk, listening, medical humanities, medical metanarrative, narrative mode, nursing, self-expression