Abstract
This essay explores how the experiences of patients and physicians are asymmetrical, what the significance of these asymmetries is, and how creative writing can help a physician become more aware of these differences to become more empathetic. Four elements of creative writing are discussed, namely how it teaches the writer to listen to stories, imagine perspectives, self-learn, and cope with past difficulties. The essay argues how each of these four components plays a role in developing empathy in healthcare. The author hopes to bring clarity into the narrative medicine discussion by distinguishing empathy from sympathy, and illustrating why this distinction is important for physicians.
Recommended Citation
Coret, Michal
(2019)
"Self and Other: Creative Writing to Develop Empathy Across the Asymmetries of Healthcare,"
Survive & Thrive: A Journal for Medical Humanities and Narrative as Medicine: Vol. 4:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/survive_thrive/vol4/iss1/10