Leading Through Stories: How to Meaningfully Engage with Patient Stories

In the realm of healthcare, the power of storytelling is often an undervalued asset. Yet, it is through the rich tapestry of patient narratives that medical professionals can gain insights far beyond the reach of traditional medical education. This very concept is the focus of a Leading Through Stories podcast episode featuring Dr. Mike Lang, the founder of Common Language Digital Storytelling, and his co-author, cancer survivor Vikram Bubber. They delve into the transformative potential of patient stories in medicine and how these narratives can significantly enhance the empathy and understanding of healthcare providers.

Patient stories are not merely recollections of medical events but are windows into the emotional and psychological journeys of individuals facing health challenges. Vikram Bubber’s own experience with Rhabdomyosarcoma serves as a poignant example of the resilience and vulnerability that accompany a cancer diagnosis. By sharing his story digitally, Vikram does not just recount his battle but invites listeners to walk alongside him through his transformative journey. It is in these shared experiences that healthcare providers can find deeper connections with those they serve, fostering a more compassionate and patient-centered approach to care.

The episode also discusses the crucial role of digital storytelling in the context of continuing medical education. The digital narrative, when crafted with care and intention, serves as a dynamic educational tool. It offers healthcare professionals a nuanced understanding of patient experiences, one that goes beyond textbooks and lectures. As Mike explains, the art of creating a digital story is about honouring the storyteller, ensuring that their voice is not only heard but also felt and understood.

The conversation sheds light on a groundbreaking paper by Dr. Lang and Vikram Bubber titled ‘Pressure: How to Meaningfully Engage with Patient Stories.‘ in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences. This paper presents three pivotal questions designed to guide healthcare professionals in their engagement with patient narratives. These questions encourage active learning and reflection, pushing providers to absorb and act upon the insights shared by patients. It marks a significant step toward integrating patient stories into the fabric of medical literature, thus shaping a more holistic form of healthcare wisdom.

Question 1:
What resonates with me in the story?

Question 2:
What does this mean to me?

Questions 3:
What wisdom can I draw from the story?

Through this episode, the audience is invited to rethink the intersection of storytelling and medicine. It is a call to embrace the emotional depth and instructional value of patient narratives. The podcast emphasizes that each story is not just a recount but an opportunity for growth and learning. By engaging with these stories, healthcare providers can improve the quality of care they provide, understanding the varied challenges their patients face throughout their healthcare journeys.

In essence, this podcast episode is more than just a discussion; it is a blueprint for a healthcare system that values the stories of its patients as much as their symptoms. It is a testament to the fact that, within each narrative, lies the potential to transform the practice of medicine and enrich the lives of both patients and providers.

About the Authors

Michael Lang is a health researcher, filmmaker, professional Digital Storytelling facilitator and Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. He has facilitated the creation of over 900 digital stories with a diverse cross-section of patients, family caregivers, and health care professionals around the world and founded a training organization for Digital Storytelling facilitation called Common Language Digital Storytelling. Mike has also directed and produced four feature-length documentaries, two short documentaries, and three web series about the human health experience in addition to numerous health education curriculums. His professional and research focus is on using digital storytelling and documentary filmmaking in education, advocacy, research, and a therapeutic capacity within healthcare and wellness contexts. Connect with him via www.mikelangstories.com or commonlanguagedst.org.

Vikram Bubber is a childhood and young adult cancer survivor. Vikram has been a patient advocate for more than 20 years and a community advocate for the last 6 years. He is actively engaged in public speaking at different post-secondary institutions and working on several committees within different health authorities and organizations both locally and nationally.

About Leading Through Stories

Everyone has a story to tell—and what we do with that story can create lasting impact. Every episode, Leading Through Stories, helps unravel the how and why of digital storytelling with host Kristy Wolfe.

Life is made up of meaningful moments—which ones do you want to share?

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Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly – Co-Created

A single well-told story can do what a stack of reports cannot: make someone feel the reality of living in a body, a system, or a diagnosis they’ve never had. We sit down with Carolyn, a newly trained Common Language Digital Storytelling facilitator and PhD student, to unpack how digital storytelling becomes a practical tool for health research, quality improvement, and stigma-breaking conversations.Episode Key Messagesrecreation therapy roots and building community programs for older adultsresearch and quality improvement as tools for systems change in long-term carediscovering Common Language through MAID digital stories and stigma reductionchoosing a more personal story and learning facilitation through vulnerabilityliving with disability, wait times in Canada, and rebuilding identity after surgeryKilimanjaro as a turning point for confidence, aging, and capacityadapting digital storytelling for people living with dementia in a PhD protocolco-research, simplified materials, slower pacing, and practical accessibility tweaksmaking a first volunteer story with her mom and deepening connection through memoryrecording voiceover many times and small changes that amplify a storyteller’s voiceinformed consent, sharing implications, and the ethics of public storytellingchallenging ethics board assumptions and shifting to assumed capacityrights-based approaches to dementia in public spaces and collaboration invitationsOther Links MentionedRead this episode's blog postWatch Carolyn's StoryWatch Marg's StoryLearn more about Fostering Inclusion for People with DementiaLearn more about Carolyn's work with Dementia Connections and PhD researchOther Episodes MentionedEpisode 37 Disrupting Death: Stories of MAiD with Kathy Cortes-Miller and Keri-Lyn DurantEpisode 52 The Storyteller’s Yellow Pages with Lisa JoworskiEpisode 57 What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine SmartAbout Our GuestCarolyn Brandly has worked with and for older adults and people with dementia for 20+ years in care and community settings – designing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion programs, and facilitating community development, knowledge translation and quality improvement initiatives and research. Carolyn has achieved an MA in health leadership, as well as completing graduate-level education in dementia studies, gerontology, and entrepreneurship, and is currently undertaking doctoral studies through the University of Victoria’s Social Dimensions of Health Program. Her aim is to contribute to global efforts shaping inclusive health and social systems that uphold the human rights, autonomy and dignity of people living with dementia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1. Digital Stories in Community-Based Research with Carolyn Brandly 30:02
2. Using Digital Stories in Clinician Training with Dr. Tricia Williams 30:41
3. Digital Stories Belong in Curriculum & Communities with Dr. Mike Lang 29:05
4. What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart 26:36
5. Through Her Lens: Cameras For Girls with Amina Mohamed 24:36

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