Narrative and faculty development: results of a five years experience with a creative writing workshop

Abstract

Background: Narrative medicine has showed to be a powerful instrument to reinforce relationships, identity, and self-knowledge among health professionals. Subjective issues have been recently recognized as relevant for faculty development in addition to the technical aspects. Since 2006 a creative writing workshop has been included as part of the Diploma in Medical Education at the medical school of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Aim: To describe the experience and results of the creative writing workshop (2006-2010). Material and Methods: Descriptive and retrospective study with a qualitative and quantitative design. Thirty-six teachers of the School of Medicine attended a 12-hour workshop. The Kirkpatrick model for evaluation of educational outcomes was used to report the data obtained in the course evaluation survey and in the stories produced. Results: There were positive results at the four levels of Kirkpatrick evaluation model. The learning objectives of the workshop were achieved and 83 stories were created, compiled and published. Conclusions: The creative writing workshop can provide faculty with protected time for reflective practice about academic experiences and produce educational outcomes at different levels of the Kirkpatrick model. (Rev Med Chile 2012; 140: 659-666).