Listening to life stories can lead to better care
Tales we tell provide insight that goes well beyond the facts, says Peter McKnight.
We’re all familiar with Aesop’s boy who cried wolf: After repeatedly and falsely telling nearby villagers he saw a wolf, the wild dog finally appears. But having been fooled one too many times, the villagers refuse to respond, and the boy meets his ignominious end.
Clearly, the fable is meant to emphasize the importance of telling the truth, and more broadly, highlights the value our culture places on truth-telling. But is the story itself true or false?
The question doesn’t make sense. Sure, we could say that neither the boy nor the wolf really existed, and so the story is false. But that would miss the point: Stories often aren’t meant simply to describe a specific state of affairs; rather, they convey meaning, telling us what cultures value.
And not just cultures. Individuals, too, tell stories, and these stories detail what we find important, what we value, what gives our lives meaning. Psychologists suggest storytelling is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, the very essence of the way we communicate with each other.
The discipline of narrative ethics has seized on this fact, and emphasizes that by understanding the stories of patients’ lives, health providers can learn what really matters to patients and thereby provide better and more ethical care.
This is true even as patients age and memories begin to fail — even for patients living with dementia. Sure, they might forget what happened 30 minutes ago, but they might very well remember what occurred 30 years ago. And even if they don’t, who among us gets all the facts right in the stories of our lives?
In writing and rewriting our life stories, we all highlight certain facts and omit others. Sometimes certain elements of our stories might even contradict each other. But given the complexity of our lives, this is inevitable: “Do I contradict myself ? Very well then, I contradict myself; I am large, I contain multitudes,” wrote Walt Whitman.
So it is with dementia patients. The narratives might not always mesh with the facts, but if we commit to truly understanding a dementia patient’s life stories, we can gain a unique insight into who the patient — the person — really is. The eyes, it seems, are not the only windows to the soul.
At the Tapestry Foundation’s 14th Annual Geriatric Services Conference, to be held in Vancouver, leading researchers and clinicians will discuss what we can learn from patient stories and how this can lead to better care. Renowned University of B.C. psychiatrist Harry Karlinksy will deliver a keynote address on the educational power of stories from film, and conduct a workshop on narrative medicine.
The conference will also include discussions of many other issues, including palliative care, financial matters in aging and support for caregivers.
In a special evening session entitled Going Beyond Old Stories: Exploring, Engaging and Evolving into our Positive Potentials, family physician Davidicus Wong will discuss how we create our life stories, and how we can evolve positively to achieve our highest potential and support others in achieving theirs. The session is open to the public, and will include time for interaction with the audience.
TAPESTRY FOUNDATION’S 14TH ANNUAL GERIATRIC SERVICES CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD AT THE VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE ON FRIDAY, APRIL 7. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO ATTEND THIS FREE EVENING SESSION, AT 7 P.M., WITH DAVIDICUS WONG, REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.TAPESTRYFOUNDATION.CA/EDUCATION/PUBLIC-PRESENTATION-SERIES OR BY TELEPHONE AT 604-806-9480.
Sure, they might forget what happened 30 minutes ago, but they might very well remember what occurred 30 years ago. And even if they don’t, who among us gets all the facts right in the stories of our lives?