And then here is another recent piece in The Atlantic about the topic, in which the author reflects on her writing about a patient experience and whether it should or should not be published.
I don't claim to have any of the answers for this myself. What is the correct approach to disseminating storytelling or narratives about patient encounters? Do others learn from it or not? Some pioneers are addressing this situation directly. Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, who has spoken at our institution about the public physician, has just announced a MOOC related to Medicine in the Digital Age.
What I do know is that medical schools really must teach this material to students and trainees. It is our obligation to the future of the profession to understand digital literacy and the impact of our storytelling on patients, each other and ourselves, given how easy it is to push out blogs into the public space.
