Welcome to Northstar Narratives at Rush Medical College

Frequently, the culture of healthcare can tempt a person to neglect physical or emotional needs in exchange for one more hour studying, serving patients, or honing clinical skills. Throughout medical training, people frequently lose touch with the fine arts implicit in medical practice. We know that this struggle for balance extends far beyond the preclinical curriculum and throughout the entirety of a career as a healthcare professional. While many of us are in close proximity to suffering, genesis, and innovation, we still find ourselves farther from some of the most rewarding and meaningful aspects of humanity. In a perfect scenario, the fine practice of medicine can heal more than just the body of a human being. As a community we must create a culture that holds space for people to decompress, reflect, and learn from past experience. 

 

Inspired by an early, formative liberal arts education, the trials of our medical training, and a purely indulgent obsession with the magic of the spoken word, Northstar Narratives aspires to bring together a diverse group of healthcare professionals through live storytelling events. These events will be held in locations off campus where Rush University Medical Center affiliates can gather to share their experiences and fine-tune the skill of storytelling. 

 

The theme for the first event we held in June 2023 was North Star Narratives: Stories of Hope, Healing, and Humanity. This was the foundation of inspiration for creating an official club. As we continue to grow, we are continuing to build a community for the medical humanities - whether through podcast media, blog format, writing accountability support groups, or hands-on workshops! We hope to bring stories from beyond the medical school, including residents, attendings, and more. 

 

At the core of medical education and practice is the power of a good story. Northstar Narratives will also hold a variety of medical humanities community events, like writing workshops, poetry sessions, and creative spaces for medical students to gather and support one another in these forms of self expression and reflection.