Narrative Essays
Family Medicine is a discipline defined as much by our stories as by our science. Narrative essays published in Family Medicine will be stories from clinical practice or from the educational setting and may be submitted by teachers, learners, patients, or professionals practicing in the primary care disciplines. These papers will generally be limited to 1000 words and should present a creative perspective both in their content and in their story-telling style. Narrative essays published in the journal will be legitimate scholarly articles and will peer-reviewed as carefully as original articles and brief reports. In general, these essays should illuminate the unique complexity and genuine personal dimensions of patient care and education in family medicine, primary care, or community medicine.
Criteria for reviewing Narrative Essays
Narrative essays are not research reports and will usually bear little resemblance to original articles of brief reports. They are not intended to be analytical; rather they should be insightful and reflective. When reviewing narrative essays, you should consider the following issues:
- Is the story shared in this paper relevant to family physicians or educators in the primary care disciplines?
- Does the story offer an important perspective about what we learn in our work as physicians or educators? Does this perspective offer important insight into the meaning of our work?
- Is the story written in a compelling manner? Not only should the story be interesting, it should be well told. Does this paper tell the story in a creative way?
- Does the paper create an appropriate emotional context for the story? Is the story told in a way that tells you something about its author?
- Will the readers of Family Medicine learn something about themselves or their work by reading this paper?
Examples of Narrative Essay/Poetry Reviews – Family Medicine journal
Family Medicine Article Reviews
This was an interesting and well-written article reporting on an innovative integrated curriculum of arts- and clinic-based teaching. The response rate is excellent, and the data analysis appears thorough. The effects reported on students’ observational skills, awareness of the doctor-patient relationship, and capacity for self-reflection address critical aspects of medical education. There are a number of design limitations in the article, such as the self-selected nature of the sample and related social desirability influence on responses, the possible gender bias toward females, and the length of time transpired between intervention and evaluation. However, I believe these to be significantly outweighed by the original and creative nature of this work.
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Examples of Narrative Essay Reviews
Examples of Poetry/55 Word Essay Reviews – Families, Systems & Health journal
Families, Systems & Health Journal Introduction
As poetry editor, co-editor and reviewer for this journal, my goals were to encourage family physicians and other healthcare professionals to appreciate poetry (and later 55-word stories) as a means of self-expression, of deepening insight into patients and self, and recognizing and valuing our common humanity.
What eventually came to be known as the Sharing Our Stories: Narratives, 55 Word Stories, Poetry section was developed to accept pieces that utilized creative writing-narratives, poetry, or 55 word stories to capture key experiences of wellness, illness, healing the health care system, and/or standout moments in healthcare.
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Read the FSH Poetry Reviews
