Narrative Medicine and Contemplative Care at the End of Life.
Journal of religion and health February 1, 2016 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1007/s10943-015-0130-6 via PubMed
Summary
Narrative medicine and contemplative care are two movements that both aim to improve healthcare but have developed separately. This article explores their similarities and differences, noting they share a diagnosis of healthcare's problems but offer distinct responses. Using Margaret Edson's play W;t, the author illustrates how these approaches intersect at the end of life, arguing for their integration to address the limitations of modern medicine.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Narrative medicine and contemplative care share common ground in diagnosing healthcare's problems but differ in their responses, and their integration is explored through the example of end-of-life care in W;t. |
Abstract
Two important movements leading the way toward a new approach to healthcare are narrative medicine and contemplative care. Despite considerable common ground between these two movements, they have existed largely parallel to each other, with different literatures, different histories, different sub-communities, and different practitioners. This article works toward integration of narrative medicine and contemplative care through a philosophical exploration of key similarities and differences between them. I start with an overview of their similar diagnosis of healthcare's problems and then consider their related, but different, responses to these problems. Finally, I use the example of Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize winning drama W;t to highlight how these issues can play out at the end of life.