Anatomy of a Story: Reframing Resilience through Long-Lasting Communication

Abstract

Any personal story can become its own form of impactful long-lasting communication, with proper dissection. Knowing the anatomy of a story builds lasting impact from within–sharing personal stories in professional spaces at all levels of medical education is crucial to making the field more inclusive and diverse. It is not only empowering for the presenter, it begins to break down the institutional barriers and systemic issues that leave 28.8% of resident physicians (Mata, 2015) and 27.2% of medical students (Rotenstein, 2016) worldwide with depression or depressive symptoms. Physician burnout must be urgently tackled from several angles: one being storytelling as a vehicle to highlight meaningful ideas and lessons of personal triumph, social justice, and resilience.

Participants will receive a step-by-step guide to dissecting their own experiences, such that they can identify one important idea they feel is beneficial for others to learn through storytelling.