Journaling cannot only help ease stress for both doctors and patients, but also improve communication and lead to more empathy. Getty Images

I love a good story, don’t you? An accomplished storyteller takes you on a journey away from your own experiences and helps you feel the characters’ emotions, conflicts, climaxes and endings (sometimes happy, sometimes not).

What does this have to do with health care, you may be wondering? Plenty, as it turns out, because of the growing interest in “narrative medicine.”

Narrative medicine usually refers to an approach to medical practice that focuses on the stories of patients as a way to improve care. Dr. Lauren Edwards of Stanford University explains it this way:

“Narrative medicine is the idea that understanding narrative (creative writing, fi

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