Writing it all down invites reflection and a chance to make sense of a long journey. More than ever before, people who cope with serious medical problems and chronic conditions are writing personal accounts and memoirs about their lived experience.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has for several years offered workshops to help patients, caregivers and health care providers “process, share, and elevate” their health stories and experiences. This year, the Telling Your Health Story workshop is virtual and free on Friday, January 20.
Register here for the workshop.
The event will feature several experts from Philadelphia, known as a center for research, top-tier hospitals and medical schools. Attendees will hear from Dr. Amanda Swain, an author and Penn Medicine family physician and Dr. David Becker, a retired cardiologist who is writing columns for The Inquirer about his own cancer journey.
University of Pennsylvania medical student Jasmine Brown, a Rhodes Scholar, and author of a book about pioneering Black female doctors, will participate in a panel discussion with Dr. Arlene Bennett, the first Black woman to graduate from Penn Medicine and Dr. Eve Higginbotham, a leader in Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Pennsylvania.
Also featured in the workshop will be “Those Nerdy Girls,” a group of Philly-based medical and health experts who created the blog “Dear Pandemic” to help explain COVID-19. They’ll discuss how to communicate about health and medicine in plain language and how to use social media to amplify your message.
And coming soon to CSLBehring.com: As we mark Rare Disease Day next month, we’ll share a recorded video session featuring leaders of a Temple University program that teaches medical school students to use writing to connect with the human side of medicine.
