Think of your most recent group of patients (maybe a primary patient). What did you do that you remember? Thiscan be a patient that you cared for yesterday, last week, or within the past year. How did you interact with thatpatient? Your narrative does not have to be the one that involved a life-threatening situation. Choose one thatinvolves your relationship with a patient and family. What did you and the patient plan for his/her care? Why didyou make the choices you did? Write as though you are trying to have someone understand your practice.It must be a first person narrative. It is always difficult to write about our self. To describe your practice, you haveto think in terms of yourself. You are the one who made the difference, so talk about it and use the word “I”.Sit down in a quiet place and write your story:1. Set the scene for the story—let the reader visualize your patient and the situation. Write one or two paragraphsopening the scene.2. Involve yourself early on in this scene.3. Tell what you did, what you thought about, and why you made the choices you did. Write two or threesentences. The assessment should be on going, based on feedback during the intervention with the patient andfamily.4. As with any story, there is a beginning and an end. The reader should know what happened as a result of yourintervention, and what this whole experience means to your practice or says to you about your practice.As you proceed with the story, talk about your role with this patient, your assessment of the care that was needed,the care you gave (your intervention), how you involved the patient and family, and the advocacy role you playedwith the patient. Include the reason(s) why you made the choices you did. What was your thought process? Talkabout how you mobilized your resources or extended your intervention outside the hospital.
