Narratives in family medicine: Tales of transformation, points of breakthrough for family physicians

Despite the advances in technology, information transmission and evidence-based medicine, the role of the patient's story is still a key to effective medical care. This paper examines the roles of narrative in medicine with particular emphasis on the narrative world of the primary care provider. The focus of this article is on the transforming power of stories and their use in clinical work, teaching, research, and in physicians' personal and professional lives. An organizing model is proposed that utilizes a combination of individual patient narratives, best evidence, and provider narratives. Projections for future threats to narrative medicine and future developments in the field are formulated.