When you experience a doctor who is skilled at narrative medicine, the differences are like night and day. In a past AHD post, a Tuft’s Catnip article referenced a piece from the Journal of the American Medical Association explaining the importance of engaging clients relationally. Some of the best veterinarians practice narrative medicine instinctively and it feels more like a collaboration between the veterinarian and animal owner.
Using the principles of narrative veterinary medicine means the veterinarian and veterinary team seek to understand the animal’s life in context with the life of the person caring for it.
Source: Practicing narrative medicine; diagnostic listening, AHD Archives, September 24, 2019. Link.
<narrative medicine> is authentic engagement. . . diagnostic listening . . . rather than perfunctorily going down checklists.