Community of Practice

August 19, 2020

Role Roller Coasters

People on a healthcare team often inhabit multiple roles, both professional and personal. One of these roles may be mother, father, parent. How does being a parent, or an adult child caregiving for a parent, impact us as patients, doctors, nurses, and other members of a healthcare team as we navigate the experience of providing and receiving care? Join Drs. Mary Pan and Elizabeth Lahti to read, write, and discuss what it means to balance these different roles. All are welcome.

Facilitator Bio

Elizabeth Lahti, MD, is the Director of Narrative Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine and co-founded the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative.

Mary Pan, MD, is a family medicine physician and writer with training in global health and narrative medicine. When not writing or staving off wanderlust, she can be found jogging in the rain. She lives in Seattle with her husband and three young children.

July 21, 2020

An Etymological Approach to Emergency, Catastrophe, and Disaster

Emergency, catastrophe, and disaster are three words often associated with illness. Many people around the world have used these words to describe the global pandemic we are living through now. In this workshop, participants will look closely at the origin of these words, and consider how our individual and collective interpretations might lead to systemic change. In this workshop, participants will read, write, and discuss.

Facilitator Bio

Elizabeth Lahti, MD, is the Director of Narrative Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine and co-founded the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative.

Daena Goldsmith, PhD, is a professor of Rhetoric & Media Studies at Lewis & Clark College. She researches, teaches, and writes about how we enact identities and relationships through what we say and how we say it.

Daena and Elizabeth both serve on NWNMC’s Board of Directors.

June 16, 2020

Interrupted: When plans go sideways

Interruptions come in many forms. Some interruptions are small, like when someone speaks over you in conversation or something distracts you from a task. Some interruptions are medium sized, like a flat tire on your way to work or an electric outage at home. Some interruptions are big, like a life altering diagnosis at a routine doctor visit, or the death of a loved one. Some interruptions are global, like a pandemic that changes the fabric of your life and the lives of everyone around you. In this workshop, we will read, discuss, and write about how we experience interruptions as individuals, and as a community.

Facilitator Bio

Elizabeth Lahti, M.D. is Director of Narrative Medicine at OHSU, and President of the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative. She teaches narrative medicine and reflective practice to students, residents, and faculty. She uses narrative techniques in all areas of medical education, with a focus on professional identity formation, leadership development, and patient centered care. She is poetry editor for The Pharos, a medical humanities journal of the national Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. Her work has been published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and The Intima.

May 26, 2020

Lost and Found

This pandemic has produced so many losses—some devastating, others disruptive or disappointing. This workshop will provide a space to name our losses, both large and small, and also to name and articulate what we may be finding. In the spirit of narrative medicine, we will use reading, writing, and listening to acknowledge, absorb, interpret, and act on our own and others’ stories of what we have lost and found.

Facilitator Bio

Daena Goldsmith, Ph.D., is a professor of Rhetoric & Media Studies at Lewis & Clark College, where she researches and teaches about how we enact identities and relationships through what we say and how we say it. Her work focuses on interactions from everyday life, including the conversations we have with a spouse or partner, the advice we give to friends and family, and the stories we tell face-to-face and online. Additional information is available at daenagoldsmith.com.

May 19, 2020

Interrupted: When plans go sideways

Interruptions come in many forms. Some interruptions are small, like when someone speaks over you in conversation or something distracts you from a task. Some interruptions are medium sized, like a flat tire on your way to work or an electric outage at home. Some interruptions are big, like a life altering diagnosis at a routine doctor visit, or the death of a loved one. Some interruptions are global, like a pandemic that changes the fabric of your life and the lives of everyone around you. In this workshop, we will read, discuss, and write about how we experience interruptions as individuals, and as a community.

Facilitator Bio

Elizabeth Lahti, M.D. is Director of Narrative Medicine at OHSU, and President of the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative. She teaches narrative medicine and reflective practice to students, residents, and faculty. She uses narrative techniques in all areas of medical education, with a focus on professional identity formation, leadership development, and patient centered care. She is poetry editor for The Pharos, a medical humanities journal of the national Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. Her work has been published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and The Intima.

April 21, 2020

Mystery in the Mundane (Or What the Living Do)

Illness can obscure many parts of our lives: the fun, joy, independence, intimacy, curiosity, creativity, and calm. Illness assigns demanding roles to patient and caregiver alike, which can become rigid and constraining to both. Suddenly, we all find ourselves cast in a COVID-19 illness story. This evening, we'll use Narrative Medicine to listen well to ourselves and to each other. Together, we'll read, discuss, write, and have the opportunity to share. In the midst of our current uncertainties, anxieties, and fears, let's make space for the connective, the restorative, and perhaps some joy, too. Join us!

Facilitator Bio

Alexis Rehrmann is a writer and editor whose writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, PDX Parent, and Portland Monthly Magazine. She studied theater directing at N.Y.U. She is a Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative board member and is currently working towards a certificate in Narrative Medicine through Columbia University.

April 14, 2020

Pandemic as a Wicked Problem

We will visit together virtually to consider pandemics as a wicked problem through a lens of creativity and wonder. Along with several curated readings and objects, our reflections will be guided by questions such as: How do you find inspiration to be flexible and adaptable in the midst of uncertainty? Where does your vitality and hope emerge? What can we learn from other geographies and cultures to remind us we are all in this together?

First described by Rittel and Webber in 1973 at the University of California, Berkeley, a wicked problem refers to an innate complexity. Wicked problems are often difficult to define and usually have no clear resolution. In response, traditional linear, analytical approaches are often insufficient, and thus engaging wicked problems is an ever-evolving art. Through narratives, reflective discussion, and written prompts this community of practice will celebrate the ever adaptable and sustainable human imagination we have always required to thrive and survive.

Facilitator Bio

Adam Hoverman, DO MPH DTMH is a Family Medicine and Public Health Physician with Multnomah County Health Department, where he combines primary care and public health practice caring for Immigrant and Refugee populations. His research, teaching, and writing focuses on health systems strengthening via Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Health Worker training. He writes poetry in his spare time.