The Power of Stories

Greeting Stewards!

Throughout our forums and our January symposium, we learned how important stories are in the healthcare setting. Within the healthcare system, we sometimes feel a disconnect between patients and providers. However, stories—from patients, providers, and workers—fill in the gray area between one person’s experience and another’s.

Toward that end,  here is a comic called Heartbreak can literally break your heart, a comic! It was inspired by a recent episode of TED Radio Hour’s episode. This comic shares multiple stories and experiences from a cardiologist. He begins with a childhood experience that ends in a heart attack that killed his grandfather. At the end, he shares an experience he had with a patient that showed his humanity. As a cardiologist, the writer was so used to just being on the surface level with patients: meeting, discusses their issues at hand, diagnosing them, and leaving it at that. But with this patient, he changed his method. He went out of his way to listen for needs, listen for the story under the story. You’ll have to click through and see for yourself how it turns out (hint: something wonderful and extraordinary unfolds).

This comic just goes to show how relevant it is for doctors to really hear and connect with patients. The lesson behind this story is one of the reasons why healthcare stewardship is so important, and why we are so grateful for your participation.

And we’ll be in touch next month with opportunities for 2022.  

On behalf of the PAHS team,

Asheanna