Mini-Workshop

The Use of 55-word Stories in Healthcare

- CDT
Room: Merchants
Angel Ogbeide, DDS
Summit Dental Health
Track:
  • Humanities and Social Sciences in Collaborative Practice
The 55-word story is a branch of narrative medicine that is used to enhance wellbeing through

improved levels of insight and emotional clarity, especially when presented with difficult situations

with which faculty are often presented but have limited outlets to facilitate meaning or significance

from these experiences 4. Example experiences include professionalism issues, racism, sexism, and

moral injury. The objective of this workshop is to teach practitioners how to write a 55-word story

and demonstrate how it can help with wellness and professional development.Session outline with active learning strategies:

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

1. Explain the purpose of 55-word stories as a tool for reflective practice, professional growth, and team-based learning in healthcare.

2. Examine common moral, ethical, and professional dilemmas in healthcare that can be better addressed through reflective writing.

3. Compose a 55-word story that captures a meaningful clinical or professional experience, promoting insight into personal and team dynamics.

4. Describe how narrative reflection supports resilience, enhances interprofessional communication, and contributes to well-being across healthcare settings.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the history of 55-word stories.
  • Write a 55-word story.
  • Understand the steps to submit to scientific journals that publish 55-word stories.

References

  • 1.Marcotte LM, Arora VM, Ganguli I. Toward Gender Equity in Academic Promotions. JAMA Internal Medicine. Published online July 12, 2021. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.3471
  • 2.Shanafelt TD, West CP, Dyrbye LN, et al. Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Integration in Physicians During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2022;97(12). doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.09.002
  • 3.Hanauer DI. The writing processes underpinning wellbeing: Insight and emotional clarity in poetic autoethnography and freewriting. Frontiers in Communication. 2022;7. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.923824
  • 4. Shin P, Desai V, Antonio Hernandez Conte, Qiu C. Time Out: The Impact of Physician Burnout on Patient Care Quality and Safety in Perioperative Medicine. The Permanente Journal. 2023;27(2):160-168. doi:https://doi.org/10.7812/tpp/23.015