Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | "A chance of a possible future". Narrative medicine and expert-patient in breast cancer nursing education. A case report |
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| Name | Iotti Olimpia |
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| Supervisor(s) | Morotti Elena, Monti Cinzia |
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| Academic Year | 2021/22 |
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| Thesis type | Non research thesis |
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Abstract
Breast cancer is a traumatic diagnosis that involves numerous physical, psychological, and social alterations. Nursing interventions are personalized based on patients' needs. Given this premise, it is essential to take into account patient experience through useful tools like narrative. Narrative medicine is a humanistic educational approach used in healthcare that relies on an autobiographical methodology centered on stories of illness and care. One tool of narrative medicine is the parallel chart, which is a separate chart from the clinical one – the latter being, instead, about patients' personal thoughts and feelings. Their experiences during clinical work are in facts recorded, so to foster clinical effectiveness with the final goal of understanding patients' suffering. In addition to patients' experience, the other fundamental aspect of illnesses is patients' role in society. They could, for instance, play the role of educator for future healthcare professionals – this kind of patients hereafter referred as expert-patient. This innovative educational methodology allows for healthcare training not only on the disease level but also on patientdisease everyday life dimension, integrating experience with healthcare knowledge and skills. To emphasize this, a case study was conducted in which an expert-patient was interviewed, investigating their dual role both as a patient and a formative sample-experience for healthcare professionals. Semistructured interviews were chosen as a methodology with the goal to highlight the experience of illness, care and overall patient attention. The keywords used for the research were: Nurse, Expert-patient, patient partner, Breast Cancer, Narrative Medicine.
