Narrative Medicine, a revolution in education.

It was in 2001 that Rita Charon, Professor of Internal Medicine and Doctor of English Literature at Columbia University, first used the term "Narrative Medicine" in a JAMA article, and it was in 2006 that she published "Narrative Medicine, honoring the stories of Illness". At Paris Descartes, an optional narrative medicine course offered to 40 students in 2009 became mandatory for the 400 DFASM1 students beginning in 2012. The writing workshops, organized in groups of eight students and facilitated by hospital clinicians of all specialties, have two objectives: to make students aware of the importance of empathetic listening to strengthen the therapeutic alliance with their patients; and to make them reflect on their medical profession at a time when they are confronted daily with suffering, illness, and death. The evaluation of the students' satisfaction highlighted their enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that has not diminished during the eight years of the educational experiment.