Academic Publications

Abstract: Few healthcare experiences are as ubiquitous as waiting. Conversations at any social gathering will unearth stories of wait times and waiting rooms, waiting for referrals, appointments, test results, treatments, or medications. A common quip in patient advocacy circles is that the experience of waiting is why “people” become“patients” when they interact with the healthcare system.* After an accident at the age of 20 led to quadriplegia, Daniel is “good at waiting” as a recurrent user of the acute care system. His years of lived experience provided extensive material to draw upon as he created a short‐film titled, Waiting to be Seen, on which this interpretive article is based.

Abstract: With medicine’s return to the humanities in the 1980s and 90s and the emergence of patient engagement as a cornerstone of quality healthcare, patient stories have increasingly been incorporated into all facets of medical training and practice. Patients and their family caregivers are being asked to “share their story” with healthcare providers in medical journals, classrooms, conferences, and even in operational planning under the auspices of quality improvement. Despite the inherent, and increasingly recognized, value of incorporating patient stories into these contexts, less attention has been given to providing healthcare providers the concepts and tools to help them engage with the stories of patients and their family caregivers in a way that maximizes potential benefits.1 This commentary is meant to help fill this gap by using a patient-created digital story as a paradigmatic case for how healthcare providers can engage with stories in a meaningful way.

Abstract: This seventh and final instalment of the Emerging Horizons series brings all the experiences of the participants in the film together with my own (ML) as the digital storytelling (DST) facilitator to discuss three of the many lessons learned from this research project (please see the introductory editorial to the series, Crafting Meaning, Cultivating Understanding, to access the film). The article summarizes the interpretations of the film in both written and digital story form, explores the value of the “artist of our days” mindset that DST can cultivate in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer surivors, and leans on hermeneutic philosophy to emphasize the importance of conversation when viewing digital stories. I conclude with a personal exhortation to be vigilant in looking for the “setups and payoffs” in my own life so that, as a DST facilitator working in healthcare settings, I can continue to help others story, and re-story, the meaningful moments of their health experiences.

Lang, M.J., & Laing, C.M. (2022). Emerging Horizons, Part Seven. Mike’s Story: Lessons Learned. Journal of Applied Hermeneutics. doi:10.11575/jah.v2022i2022.76467