The Chief Concern of Medicine : The Integration of the Medical Humanities and Narrative Knowledge Into Medical Practices

Unlike any existing studies of the medical humanities, __The Chief Concern of Medicine__ brings to the examination of medical practices a thorough---and clearly articulated---exposition of the nature of narrative. The book builds on the work of linguistics, semiotics, narratology, and discourse theory and examines numerous literary works and narrative "vignettes" of medical problems, situations, and encounters. Throughout, the book presents usable expositions of the ways storytelling organizes itself to allow physicians and other healthcare workers (and even patients themselves) to be more attentive to and self-conscious about the information---the "narrative knowledge"---of the patient's story. An interdisciplinary project that aims at demonstrating the importance of humanistic understanding in the intellectual and everyday practices of medicine| Unlike any existing studies of the medical humanities, The Chief Concern of Medicine brings to the examination of medical practices a thorough—-and clearly articulated—-exposition of the nature of narrative. The book builds on the work of linguistics, semiotics, narratology, and discourse theory and examines numerous literary works and narrative "vignettes" of medical problems, situations, and encounters. Throughout, the book presents usable expositions of the ways storytelling organizes itself to allow physicians and other healthcare workers (and even patients themselves) to be more attentive to and self-conscious about the information—-the "narrative knowledge"—-of the patient's story. Unlike any existing studies of the medical humanities, 'The Chief Concern of Medicine' brings to the examination of medical practices a thorough - and clearly articulated - exposition of the nature of narrative. The book builds on the work of linguistics, semiotics, narratology, and discourse theory and examines numerous literary works and narrative "vignettes" of medical problems, situations, and encounters. Throughout, the book presents usable expositions of the ways storytelling organizes itself to allow physicians and other healthcare workers (and even patients themselves) to be more attentive to and self-conscious about the information - the "narrative knowledge" - of the patient's story The functional realism of medicine Modalities of science : narrative, phronesis, and the skills of medicine The chief concern of medicine : narrative knowledge and schema-based practice The logic of diagnosis : peirce, literary narrative, and the history of present illness The patient-physician relationship : the scene of narration The patient's story : the apprehension of narration Doctors listening and attending to patients : response and engagement with acts of narration Narrative and medicine : schemas of narration Narrative and everyday medical ethics : schemas of action Reading the death of Ivan Ilych.