Round two in Iowa City has already been a blast!
I enjoyed stepping outside of the medical school world and back into my literature/medicine enthusiast role at The Examined Life conference, where I led a discussion forum about “Introducing Illness Narratives in Pre-Health Education.” I shared some background about the undergraduate class that I taught, Grand Rounds: Exploring the Literary Symptoms through Narrative, and led a discussion about the broader implications of such a course in pre-health education.
It was exciting and less anxiety-provoking than I anticipated to lead the session. The room was less than ideal, for it was more of a lecture setting that a discussion room, but we made the most of it by moving towards the center of the room and engaging in both small and large group discussions.
One comment in my session particularly stood out to me when someone challenged the very label “illness narratives”; instead, he suggested that if health really is a spectrum, they should be called “health narratives.” I found this to be an especially powerful point that questions how our own terminology may impact and “other” our perception of these narratives and people. If only changing such labels were as simple.
As always, I was struck by the diverse range of people that this conference attracts and the many personal experiences that have led people here. Special thanks to all who participated in my discussion, and I’m looking forward to taking a step back and enjoying the rest of the conference!
Investigating Illness Narratives 