Writing Medicine National Grand Rounds Tour
with Laurel Braitman PhD, Christy Hartman, and Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts program
For healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers.
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2024-2025 OFFERINGS
Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Medical Humanities and the Arts Program and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Laurel Braitman is offering reflective writing workshops and grand rounds lectures on the power of storytelling for healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers at academic medical institutions, cancer centers, and community clinics across the U.S. in 2023 and 2024. These 60-90 minute workshops and lectures offer opportunities for participants to hone their communication skills, reflect on meaningful experiences in medicine and beyond, and learn to express themselves more clearly and vulnerably. Modeled after the virtual writing workshops led by Dr. Laurel Braitman for over 10,000 healthcare professionals around the world since spring 2020 (Writing Medicine), these trainings encourage brave communication about potentially difficult subjects, cultivate resilience in the face of joy, grief, and other complex emotions, and offer protected time to reflect on both difficult and rewarding moments in medicine.
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Reflective Writing Workshops
In person or virtual - 60-90 minutes
Workshops offer participants an opportunity to pause, reflect, and practice creative problem solving and narrative building in a warm and welcoming environment. Participants will receive a selection of custom writing prompts on various themes pertaining to their specific interests and goals and will alternate between writing and sharing. Every workshop begins with an icebreaker and establishment of best practices, followed by a 15 minute talk on the tenets of excellent storytelling and specific tips and tricks for becoming one's most authentic, evocative, interesting and clear communicator (whether on the page, with colleagues or on teams, at a podium, or speaking with family and friends).
By the end of a session participants will be able to:
-Employ specific techniques for speaking and writing more clearly and vulnerably (one-on-one or to larger audiences)
-Identify the elements of compelling storytelling and introduce these elements into their own communication practices
-Draw on their physical senses to imbue their communication with depth and resonance
-Develop their own storytelling practice using take-away prompts and strategies for accountability moving forward
-Recognize the importance of storytelling in the support of wellbeing in healthcare contexts
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GRAND ROUNDS LECTURES & Keynotes
In person or virtual - 45-60 Minutes
Laurel frequently gives keynote lectures to state hospital associations, national associations of healthcare leaders, hospital systems, academic medical centers, advocacy organizations, and other large audiences in healthcare and at national meetings. Her talks focus on the power of storytelling to improve clinician (and clinical-student) well-being and reduce burnout in healthcare. Recent keynotes have included the main TED conference, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Patient Safety Congress, The Chautauqua Institute Faith and Health Summit, the Missouri Hospital Association, The Maine Hospital Association, Elevate Psych Congress, Chiesi Pharmaceuticals and many more. She is represented by the Lavin Agency and Executive Speakers Bureau but inquiries should be directed to grandrounds@laurelbraitman.com.
Fee structure:
Writing workshops are free for patients and caregivers and certain nonprofit and patient advocacy groups. Fee and/or honorarium required for healthcare professional audiences including but not limited to: Physicians, nurses, hospital administration and staff, and more. Open to all departments and specialties. Cost dependent on availability, virtual or in person, size of audience, and the needs of the institution.
What Participants Have to Say
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98% of participants
say that sessions helped them find meaning, think more clearly, and/or process some of recent experiences
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93% of participants
say they felt re-invigorated to return to daily life after this session
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86% of participants
felt a renewed sense of purpose in their work
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"this group is what has been missing from my medical training and career."
–Writing Medicine participant, surveyed August 2022
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"THE SESSION BROUGHT my SUBCONSCIOUS INTO CONSCIOUSNESS AND IT WAS THERAPEUTIC."
–Dr. Brenda Kubheka, Johannesburg, South Africa
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"Laurel's workshop provides an essential nutrient I didn't know I was deficient in."
–Writing Medicine participant, surveyed August 2022
Contact grandrounds@laurelbraitman.com to get started
About us
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Laurel braitman
Laurel Braitman PhD is a New York Times bestselling author and the Director of Writing and Storytelling at the Medical Humanities and the Arts Program at the Stanford School of Medicine where she has helped hundreds of physicians, clinical students and other healthcare professionals communicate more bravely and effectively. She holds a PhD in Science, Technology and Society from MIT, and is a Senior TED Fellow. Her new book What Looks Like Bravery: An epic journey from loss to love has just come out with Simon & Schuster. "An affecting investigation of loss, sorrow, and the search for meaning," according to Kirkus Reviews. Her last book, Animal Madness, was a NYT bestseller and has been translated into eight languages. She is the founder of the global community of writing healthcare professionals, Writing Medicine, now in its third year. Her work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Good Morning America and Al Jazeera. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, on Radiolab, in The Wall Street Journal, Wired, National Geographic and other publications.
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CHRISTY HARTMAN
Christy Hartman MA is the Program Coordinator at the Medical Humanities and the Arts Program at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a gifted instructor in the art and craft of storytelling. She received her masters in Ecopsychology and Environmental Humanities from Viridis Graduate Institute and holds a certificate in writing from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Christy was a staff producer for the State of the Human podcast for a decade, and has coached hundreds of Stanford University students in storytelling techniques. Her essays have been published in Souvenir Lit Journal, About Place Journal, The Stanford Daily, and in the book, Aftermath: Explorations of Loss & Grief. Her solo-performance, Wolf Teeth, is currently in production. Christy will be helping facilitate the storytelling workshops and provide additional support for participants.
