When physician-writer William Carlos Williams was asked how he managed his dual careers, he replied, "It's no strain. In fact, the one nourishes the other, even if at times I've groaned to the contrary." It's a philosophy shared by Rita Charon, director of a new program in narrative medicine at Columbia University, where students and clinicians learn to shape the fragments of medical work -- a symptom, a conflict, a difficult conversation -- into coherent narratives that reflect not only their points of view but also the patient's. Here, Charon explains how a habit of narrative writing can change the way a medical professional sees her patients and herself.
