Dr. Nicole Morris' Approach to Narrative Medicine

How has your use of narrative medicine in clinical settings meaningfully impacted your decisions as a physician or changed how you implement patient care?

I have formally engaged in regularly scheduled narrative medicine sessions with my physician colleagues and the medical learners I teach for the past 5 years. These narrative activities have renewed my focus to listen intently, and without judgment, to the stories and perspectives of others, including my patients. Narrative medicine has enhanced my empathy and my desire to understand my patients’ unique personal journeys and individual lived experiences. It reminds me that conversations and relationships are just as satisfying as diagnosis and treatment within the career of medicine.

Author Biography

Core Clinical Faculty

Family Medicine Residency Program

KAISER PERMANENTE | LOS ANGELES MEDICAL CENTER

Assistant Professor

Department of Clinical Science

KAISER PERMANENTE | BERNARD J. TYSON SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Dr. Nicole Morris, an attending physician specializing in Family Medicine, practices at Southern California Kaiser Permanente and teaches at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. Dr. Morris holds a BAS and MD, and she integrates narrative medicine into both her clinical work and medical education.