Messy Medicine: How Narrative Medicine Disrupts the Tidiness of the Baconian Project and Illuminates the Sacred Spaces of Stories
Moderator: Sarah Barton, ThD, MS, OTR/L, BCP, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Theological Ethics, Duke University SOM and Duke Divinity School
Panelists: Annika Dirkse, Charles Lynch, Jonathan Avendaño, Michael "Grip" Gilbert and Mary Elise Nolen, Theology, Medicine and Culture Fellows, Duke Divinity School
The Baconian project, coined by Gerald McKenny, describes an ideological shift proposed by philosophers such as Francis Bacon from a pre-modern concept of nature to a modern framework that seeks to control nature via technological innovation in order to eliminate suffering and the burden of finitude.[1] Though such a perspective has allowed for incredible progress in medicine, it is flawed insofar as it substitutes health for salvation, assumes that suffering is meaningless, provides no limits for technological control, and encourages individualism at the cost of a healthy community.
However, many efforts have been made in more recent years to offer an alternative to the pitfalls of the Baconian-influenced medical industry. One such framework is Narrative Medicine, as proposed by Dr. Rita Charon, which incorporates the sacred art of sharing vulnerable stories into medical spaces, fostering empathy and accompaniment.[2] This approach embraces the reality of a patient's complex personhood, finititude, and sickness in ways that both validates their suffering and invites the physician to empathetically take part in their healing --- all aspects which the Baconian Project fails to consider. In Narrative Medicine, we have found a helpful framework for highlighting Christian-based responses to the Baconian Project, in line with the alternatives offered by McKenny.
We will consider how Christian non-profit organizations working with underserved communities at times both embody and resist Baconian ideals. Panelists at different community organizations will share their observations. They will seek to answer the question, “How can Narrative Medicine uniquely respond to the consequences of the Baconian Project, promote community, and cultivate trusting patient-physician relationships?”
The panel includes five Theology, Medicine, and Culture Fellows, all either interested in or currently pursuing medical or healthcare-related training. Panelists will draw from their experiences of volunteering with these various non-profit organizations, including an organization facilitating the flourishing of persons with disabilities (Organization A), a free mental health clinic (Organization B), a Christian safety net clinic that sees patients regardless of insurance status (Organization C), and an organization supporting and empowering refugees and other immigrants (Organization D).
At Organization A, a plethora of daily programs are offered for members of the Durham community to come together, share common experiences, and develop friendships with each other. While participating in the program coordinated by the ministry, those with disabilities and those without disabilities are expected to contribute and engage in the same manner. By doing so, an understanding of equality, community, and friendship.
Organization B is a Christian free mental-health clinic that primarily serves the Latino/a/x community in Durham. The clinic is run by an almost entirely Latinx staff and offers free psychological and psychiatric consultations. The clinic is not just committed to offering psychiatric services, but also to playing a part in the overall health and wellness of the surrounding area as well as the Latinx community at large, putting on community events and hosting community members in their open wellness garden.
Organization C is a Christian clinic that provides primary and obstetric/gynecological care for people with and without insurance. The clinic sees patients of all faiths, languagesThe model of care ensures continued care for each patient independent of employment or insurance status. It is the only safety-net clinic in the area. The student placed here shadows the obstetrics department.
Organization D is a global non-profit aiming to support refugees and other immigrants in transitioning to the United States. The organization provides immigrants with resources for resettlement, education, mental health, and employment. One facet of their resettlement initiative involves pairing volunteers with families, in our case, a single-mother family with a child with special needs. Our task/goal is to walk alongside the family as they adjust to life in a new country.
First, the panel will explore the impact that Baconian themes have on cultural expectations and conceptions of health. Second, the panel will discuss the principles of Narrative Medicine as an alternative framework to a Baconian lens. Here, we will focus on how Narrative Medicine promotes a Christian approach to medicine, engaging specifically with themes of disability theology. Third, we will share personal narratives based on observations from our respective organizations, focusing on the practical applications of a Christian-based medical approach. Finally, panelists will engage audience members in a discussion of how these insights can be used to understand health in the Christian tradition, defined not merely by the absence of suffering but rather as the thriving of individuals within a community, and the significance of embracing human finitude.[3]
References:
Berry, Wendell. “Health is Membership.” October 17, 1994. Conference of Spirituality and Healing, Louiseville, Kentucky. http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berryhealth.html.
Charon, Rita. “Honoring the stories of illness.” Filmed September 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia,
United States. TED Video, 18:17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24kHX2HtU3o
McKenny, Gerald P. “Bioethics, the Body, and the Legacy of Bacon.” In On Moral Medicine, 308-23. Edited by Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey. Eerdmans, 1998.
[1] Gerald P. McKenny, “Bioethics, the Body, and the Legacy of Bacon.” In On Moral Medicine, ed. Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey (Eerdmans, 1998), 308-23.
[2] Rita Charon, “Honoring the stories of illness,” filmed September 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, TED Video, 18:17, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24kHX2HtU3o
[3] Wendell Berry, “Health is Membership,” October 17, 1994, Conference of Spirituality and Healing, Louiseville, Kentucky, http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berryhealth.html.
However, many efforts have been made in more recent years to offer an alternative to the pitfalls of the Baconian-influenced medical industry. One such framework is Narrative Medicine, as proposed by Dr. Rita Charon, which incorporates the sacred art of sharing vulnerable stories into medical spaces, fostering empathy and accompaniment.[2] This approach embraces the reality of a patient's complex personhood, finititude, and sickness in ways that both validates their suffering and invites the physician to empathetically take part in their healing --- all aspects which the Baconian Project fails to consider. In Narrative Medicine, we have found a helpful framework for highlighting Christian-based responses to the Baconian Project, in line with the alternatives offered by McKenny.
We will consider how Christian non-profit organizations working with underserved communities at times both embody and resist Baconian ideals. Panelists at different community organizations will share their observations. They will seek to answer the question, “How can Narrative Medicine uniquely respond to the consequences of the Baconian Project, promote community, and cultivate trusting patient-physician relationships?”
The panel includes five Theology, Medicine, and Culture Fellows, all either interested in or currently pursuing medical or healthcare-related training. Panelists will draw from their experiences of volunteering with these various non-profit organizations, including an organization facilitating the flourishing of persons with disabilities (Organization A), a free mental health clinic (Organization B), a Christian safety net clinic that sees patients regardless of insurance status (Organization C), and an organization supporting and empowering refugees and other immigrants (Organization D).
At Organization A, a plethora of daily programs are offered for members of the Durham community to come together, share common experiences, and develop friendships with each other. While participating in the program coordinated by the ministry, those with disabilities and those without disabilities are expected to contribute and engage in the same manner. By doing so, an understanding of equality, community, and friendship.
Organization B is a Christian free mental-health clinic that primarily serves the Latino/a/x community in Durham. The clinic is run by an almost entirely Latinx staff and offers free psychological and psychiatric consultations. The clinic is not just committed to offering psychiatric services, but also to playing a part in the overall health and wellness of the surrounding area as well as the Latinx community at large, putting on community events and hosting community members in their open wellness garden.
Organization C is a Christian clinic that provides primary and obstetric/gynecological care for people with and without insurance. The clinic sees patients of all faiths, languagesThe model of care ensures continued care for each patient independent of employment or insurance status. It is the only safety-net clinic in the area. The student placed here shadows the obstetrics department.
Organization D is a global non-profit aiming to support refugees and other immigrants in transitioning to the United States. The organization provides immigrants with resources for resettlement, education, mental health, and employment. One facet of their resettlement initiative involves pairing volunteers with families, in our case, a single-mother family with a child with special needs. Our task/goal is to walk alongside the family as they adjust to life in a new country.
First, the panel will explore the impact that Baconian themes have on cultural expectations and conceptions of health. Second, the panel will discuss the principles of Narrative Medicine as an alternative framework to a Baconian lens. Here, we will focus on how Narrative Medicine promotes a Christian approach to medicine, engaging specifically with themes of disability theology. Third, we will share personal narratives based on observations from our respective organizations, focusing on the practical applications of a Christian-based medical approach. Finally, panelists will engage audience members in a discussion of how these insights can be used to understand health in the Christian tradition, defined not merely by the absence of suffering but rather as the thriving of individuals within a community, and the significance of embracing human finitude.[3]
References:
Berry, Wendell. “Health is Membership.” October 17, 1994. Conference of Spirituality and Healing, Louiseville, Kentucky. http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berryhealth.html.
Charon, Rita. “Honoring the stories of illness.” Filmed September 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia,
United States. TED Video, 18:17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24kHX2HtU3o
McKenny, Gerald P. “Bioethics, the Body, and the Legacy of Bacon.” In On Moral Medicine, 308-23. Edited by Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey. Eerdmans, 1998.
[1] Gerald P. McKenny, “Bioethics, the Body, and the Legacy of Bacon.” In On Moral Medicine, ed. Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey (Eerdmans, 1998), 308-23.
[2] Rita Charon, “Honoring the stories of illness,” filmed September 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, TED Video, 18:17, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24kHX2HtU3o
[3] Wendell Berry, “Health is Membership,” October 17, 1994, Conference of Spirituality and Healing, Louiseville, Kentucky, http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berryhealth.html.