Synapse, Eye Witness

Literature & Medicine: Eye Witness
Interview with Carrie Nankervis ::: bio, by Abigail Cutler ::: bio

Editor Abigail Cutler spoke with Carrie Nankervis, from Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois about her experience participating in the hospital’s first Literature & Medicine Seminar last spring. Carrie Nankervis is a practicing Family Physician who is involved in the health care quality movement, both locally and nationally.

AC: How did you get involved with Literature & Medicine in the first place? What were your expectations of the program?

CN: I thought the program would provide a great opportunity to sit back and reflect on the relationship between literature and personal experience. Initially, I was under the impression that the group would only comprise physicians and nurses. I was so pleased to find other professionals in attendance — including volunteers and support staff.

AC: What did your hospital hope to achieve with the program?

CN: The mission of the program — a vehicle for introspection in personal and professional lives — seemed to immediately fit in with our hospital culture. I think there was also a hope that such reflection and introspection would eventually permeate the rest of the hospital system.

AC: Do any of the sessions stand out in your mind for being particularly successful or unsuccessful?

CN: Last year’s final session seemed to especially reflect the program’s success. After reading Pat Barker’s Regeneration, the group was discussing the author’s tendency to throw the reader into moments or scenes — which were clearly significant and important — without any preparation or forewarning. In the middle of our conversation, one of the participants — the chaplain — was suddenly paged and had to leave the meeting. Later on, the chaplain returned and spoke about how this very issue so often emerges in the medical profession. The chaplain had been paged to console a family on the death of their baby and, without much preparation or information, quickly became a significant part of a family’s unforgettable and intense experience.

Another memorable moment occurred when reading Anne Fadiman’s book. As someone who works in quality improvement, I was really moved by The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I appreciated the book’s message that there is too often a lack of cultural insight or sensitivity to culture in the health care system. A couple of other physicians felt the text was too critical of the doctors in the text, and did not give the practice of Western medicine enough credit. Unfortunately, they ended up dominating the conversation that meeting. I felt relatively comfortable speaking up and defending my position, but I sensed that many of the other participants — who may have also liked the book — felt uncomfortable speaking up against the physicians.

AC: What are your hopes for the Literature & Medicine — for the hospital and for yourself?

CN: I hope in the second year the program retains some veteran participants. And I hope there will be more press out there about the program — testimonies of its success. Personally, I hope that the program continues to recapture and reaffirm why I am a part of the medical profession.

Eye Witness is a column devoted to the stories of Literature & Medicine participants. We invite you to submit short essays about your experiences in the seminars, and to share your reflections with a larger audience.

print whole article

Design : Harley Design
Web : West End Webs

Literature & Medicine has received major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.