Jay Baruch, physician, writer, and member of the NBM Lab's International Advisory Board, joins us from Providence, Rhode Island to trace where his interest in story, narrative, and medicine began. Jay shares stories from his career that illustrate how we can keep these interests joined and alive. In particular, he describes the benefits that working narratively has in the emergency room. Jay also shares his writing process and some exciting news about his current writing projects.

About Our Guest:

Jay Baruch is a writer, emergency room doctor, educator, and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he serves as the Director of the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Scholarly Concentration. His academic and creative work centers on the complexity and uncertainty in patient care and the importance of creativity, interdisciplinarity, and the arts as clinical skills.

His latest book of non-fiction essays is Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the Emergency Room (MIT Press, 2022). He’s the author of two short fiction collections: What’s Left Out (Kent State University Press, 2015) and Fourteen Stories: Doctors, Patients, and Other Strangers (Kent State University Press, 2007).

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Follow ”NBM Talks” for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.