Why did you choose to teach in this Master, and what do you think makes it distinctive today?
How would you describe your experience teaching in the program, and what impact have you observed on participants?
In your view, how can narrative medicine contribute to improving healthcare and social services? How do you envision the future of health through this approach?
My name is Anna Beug. For 25 years I have worked as a general practitioner in a deprived community in Dublin, Ireland. I also have a long involvement in medical education with a particular interest in mental health and communication skills. In the last decade I have been involved in learning and teaching the narrative-based method ‘conversations inviting change’ (https://www.conversationsinvitingchange.com). This pedagogical method has had a profound impact on my practice and teaching. It has given me a completely new perspective on the power of words, the nature of curiosity and the need to learn to ‘get out of the way’ of patients’narratives. Uniquely the CIC method combines the skills required for effective narrative enquiry with both supervision and reflective practice. CIC prioritizes the creation of space in interactions between clinicians and patients. Space which invites patient narratives to be told in the belief that they might evolve and change in the telling.
What drew me to the ISTUD Master’s Program in Milan is its broad and applied focus and the fact that it is aimed at practicing clinicians. I believe that if we want to incorporate narrative practices into the profoundly stressful clinical environments of today, we must not lose sight of the reality of healthcare systems and need pedagogical methods that bear this reality in mind. I have found CIC to be highly sensitive to this challenge.
My experience of the course has been very positive to date. I have found the participants to be curious and engaged and ready to actively participate. This is crucial as my teaching is focused on providing a learningexperience which has direct relevance to clinical practice. I have found the course participants to have a broad understanding of a wide range of narrative ideas and practices which consistently pushes the seminar in new and creative directions.
I believe that modern healthcare faces enormous challenges. We live in a world where time and space are rare commodities. For me the power of narrative and the transformative possibilities of conversation should remain at the core of every clinical encounter and be a priority of medical education and practice. Unless we encourage clinicians to reflect, provide them with support and work on creating environments where listening and curiosity are possible, we risk losing what is most fundamental to caring for those who suffer. I believe that the thoughtful application of narrative practices can help restore both the humanity and the art of medicine and social care.