| Bless me reader for I have sinned: physicians and confessional writing. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20495259 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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From the poetry of William Carlos Williams, the novels of Walker Percy, and the short stories of Anton Chekov to the contemporary essays of Atul Gawande, physicians' contributions to literary genres have been significant. This article explores the specific form of confessional writing offered by physicians during the past half century, writing that often exposes medical error or negative feelings towards patients. A history of confessional practices as a legal tool, as religious practice, and as literary genre is offered, followed by analyses of selected confessional writings by physicians, many of them found in clinical journals such as Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Lancet. The authors of the narratives described here are engaged in several or all elements of the confessional sequence, which may offer them some resolution through the exposure and acknowledgment of their shared humanity with their patients and their expression of regret for any harm done. |
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Authors:
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Delese Wear; Therese Jones |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Perspectives in biology and medicine Volume: 53 ISSN: 1529-8795 ISO Abbreviation: Perspect. Biol. Med. Publication Date: 2010 |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-05-24 Completed Date: 2010-11-10 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0401132 Medline TA: Perspect Biol Med Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 215-30 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA. dw@neoucom.edu |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Attitude of Health Personnel* Ethics, Clinical Hippocratic Oath Humans Medical Errors Medicine in Literature Narration Periodicals as Topic Physician-Patient Relations* Physicians / psychology* Truth Disclosure* Writing |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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