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Power of the Patient's Story is Oct. 21 Sischy Lecture Topic

Rita Charon, M.D., founder of "narrative medicine," will speak

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D., is the 2014 Sischy Lecture guest speaker. She founded narrative medicine, which emphasizes the need for physicians to listen to patients' stories when working to understand and treat their illnesses.

Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D., will present the 2014 Sischy Lecture, “The Care of the Sick is a Work of Art,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue.

Dr. Charon is a general internist and narratologist at Columbia University who originated the field of narrative medicine. Narrative medicine recognizes the value of patients’ spoken viewpoints and first-person accounts in clinical practice, research and education. Narrative medicine aims not only to validate the experience of the patient, but also to encourage creativity and self-reflection in the physician.

"Sick people need physicians who can understand their diseases, treat their medical problems, and accompany them through their illnesses," Dr. Charon has said. She is the author of Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness (Oxford University Press, 2006) and co-editor of Stories Matter: The Role of Narrative in Medical Ethics (Routledge, 2002) and Psychoanalysis and Narrative Medicine (SUNY Press, 2008).

Sick people need physicians who can understand their diseases, treat their medical problems, and accompany them through their illnesses.

Dr. Charon is founder and Executive Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia. Her research focuses on the impact of narrative medicine practice, reflective clinical practice and health care team effectiveness.

The lecture is free and open to the public. To register now, visit http://event.urmc.edu/sischy . For additional registration information contact Angela Pullen at 585.273.5937.

The Ben Sischy, M.D., Lecture in Humane Medicine was established in 1991 as a tribute to the former chief of radiation oncology at Highland Hospital. Dr. Sischy’s career was based on his beliefs in the importance of quality patient care, innovative research and dedicated treatment. He pioneered many new approaches to cancer treatment in a community hospital setting. 

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