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creative, and actually produce somethingtangible. Furthermore, I find that finishinga piece of art into which I’ve put a lot ofthought and effort is an extremely fulfillingactivity.Give Me HopeVina Nguyen is a medical student in theclass of 2012 at the University of Alberta.Media: Acrylic and CrayonSize: 20x16inArtist’s Statement:In medicine, we can become caregiversholding the last source of hope for ourpatients. Unfortunately, sometimes wedo not realize that what we say or do cangreatly impact a patient’s quality of life,their perception of their illness, and theirperseverance to survive and endure difficulttimes in their life. In these situations Ifind that art can help ground and openmy perception of the world. Art also helpsme realize my biases and misconceptionsbefore I act upon them, so that I can becomea more connected healer. As healers weare exposed to a multitude of experiences,from loss and grief, to anxiety and joy. Artcan help us internalize all these emotionalexperiences so that we may learn and growfrom them. In this way, I believe that artnot only nurtures the heart and soul, but itmay also nurture the mind by encouragingcreative, open thinking. Art for me is animportant part of medicine: it satiates myneed for creativity, ensures there is balancein my life, and exercises my mind to stayopen and understanding.References1. Lee, J. & Graham, A. (2001). Studentsperception of medical school stress andtheir evaluation of a wellness elective,Medical Education, 35 (7): 652–659.2. Stringer, K. Personal Interview. 10 August2011.3. Root-Bernstein, RS. (1996). The sciencesand arts share a common creativeaesthetic. The Elusive Synthesis: Aestheticsand Science. Dordrecht: Kluwer AcademicPublishers: 49–82.4. Felix, R. Personal Interview. 12 August2011.5. Brett-MacLean, P. (2007) Use of the Arts inMedical an Health Professional Education.University of Alberta Health SciencesJournal, 4 (1): 26-29.6. Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative,www.mchb.org7. Breton, J. (2011). Birth marks: An artisticexploration into the medical, personal,societal, and historical dimensions ofpostpartum depression (PPD) througha collection of sketches, collages, andjournalling. University of Alberta HealthSciences Journal, 6 (1): 13-14.8. Brett-MacLean, P., Casavant, M., &Kennedy, D.Y. (2010). Artists AmongUs: Happiness as an element in healthprofessionals’ artist statements. Atrium:The Report of the Northwestern MedicalHumanities and Bioethics Program, 8: 18-20.9. Macnaughton, J. (2000). The humanitiesin medical education: context, outcomesand structures. J Med Ethics: MedicalHumanities, 26: 23–30.10. Art & Humanities in Health & Medicine(AHHM), www.med.ualberta.ca/Home/Education/ ArtsHumanitiesMUSAOn the value of narrative reflective practice: A personal reflectionDebbi Andrews, MDDivisional Director and Associate Professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics,Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, CanadaCorrespondence to Dr. Debbi Andrews: Email: andrewsd@ualberta.caIn December 2010, I attended a workshopon Narrative Reflective Practice (NRP)hosted by the Health Sciences Education andResearch Commons (HSERC) and Centrefor Teaching and Learning (CTL) at theUniversity of Alberta. The workshop facilitator,Dr. Hedy Wald from Brown University,asked participants to prepare and share shortdescriptions of their own experiences usingnarrative writing exercises with students.As I started to work on the customary 3-5Powerpoint slides, I realised that there was verylittle reflection involved in what I was proposingto present, just a bone-dry list of what was done.This didn’t capture the experience of facilitatingan NRP session, and I doubted it would sparkany reflection in the workshop group. I deletedthe slides and took out a pen. The followingis my own narrative reflection that I read tothe group.I am no orator, but I am a writer. I choosetoday to talk about my own experience inteaching and facilitating narrative practice inthe form of a read narrative.For the past two years I have facilitatedsmall group narrative reflective practicesessions for first year medical students aspart of their Patient-Centred Care course. 1These sessions are part of an initiative toinsert exercises in reflection at key pointsduring medical school and residency at theUniversity of Alberta. The themes presentedin the first year include professional identity,professionalism and biomedical ethics. Laterthe students have opportunities to reflect ontheir encounters with patients and staff inclinics and on the hospital wards. I confessthat I was initially drawn to participatingin these sessions for somewhat selfishreasons—I am a writer and wanted a way tointegrate my own writing background withteaching. Now, because of two very differentexperiences in facilitating these groupsfrom last year to this one, I am even morecommitted to the importance of reflectivewriting in medical training. I have a betterunderstanding of what the act of writing canmean for achieving understanding. Let meexplain what I mean.The students’ assignment was to write, thenshare aloud, a one page narrative on thetopic of medical identity—what it meansto become a doctor, both as a generalprocess and how this might apply to themas individuals. For each session the writingprompt was a film that was viewed by theentire first year medical class, followed bya faculty panel who reflected on some ofthe issues from the film and an interactivequestion and answer session. Afterwards,the students wrote their own brief reflectiveresponses to the film, and then, two dayslater they shared those reflections infacilitated small groups.University of Alberta Health Sciences Journal • April 2012 • Volume 7 • Issue 1 21