Readers know that I love teaching. Medical teaching has many forms and as a clinician educator the classroom is the least important! Osler always has a relevant quote:
“He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.” – William Osler
Teaching about patient care requires taking care of patients. We discuss the patient, see the patient, then reflect on seeing the patient. We also teach in case conferences through discussions of patients. Morning report starts with a patient presentation (the patient’s story transformed into medical parlance).
But sometimes we have to give talks about medical subjects. How do we give a good presentation? I am currently modifying two presentations that I have given multiple times and preparing three new ones. In trying to continuously improve my presentations I look for articles, web sites and tweets that expand my idea horizon. This blog entry has me excited -The Power of Story.
Others have told me that my best presentations include stories and especially patient stories. Here are the reasons stories are so important:
The Top Ten Reasons stories are useful and powerful:
- They are real
- They are short
- They are interesting
- They are human
- They give third party credibility
- They are easy to tell
- They are memorable
- They are emotionally connecting
- They move people
- They are the principle communication tool since Man began talking
One of my talks is about didactic teaching. I plan to use this list to remind the audience that the best medical teaching starts and ends with a connection to patients.
h/t to Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen for the original link.
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Thank you for remembering me, the patient.