The power of stories in the consultation

The power of stories in the consultation

Professor Graham Easton


This interactive workshop explores the powerful role of stories - or narratives - in the doctor-patient consultation.  As doctors, we are immersed in stories; from the patient’s telling of early symptoms, through experiences of treatments and effects on daily life; every episode of care is interpreted in story form, whether in patient records, letters or chats between professionals, or storytelling in the consultation. The stories in consultations may be brief (“my asthma is worse”), fragmented, or even “untrue” – but they are still stories, relating events and meanings through the conscious and unconscious choice of words and phrases. Stories are how we try to make sense from the chaos of life; if we accept that the goal of the clinician-patient encounter is to organise and interpret the patient’s illness with them, then this narrative perspective is critical to the consultation.

The workshop will explore:



Graham Easton

Graham Easton is a GP and Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Barts and The London Medical School, QMUL. He studied medicine at The London Hospital Medical College before training as a GP in the Oxford Region. He then studied for a master’s in Science Communication at Imperial College which led to a role as senior producer in the BBC Radio Science Unit, where he presented Radio 4’s flagship medical programme Case Notes for many years. In this role he was trained in the art and science of storytelling for communication. After a spell as an editor at the BMJ, he has combined medical journalism with part-time clinical practice and medical education. He was acting head of undergraduate GP teaching, and then a Programme Director for GP specialty training at Imperial College, and his doctoral research at the Institute of Education explored how lecturers use stories in medical teaching. He was elected to Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2017. He has written or edited several books, including The Appointment - the story of a morning surgery told from inside the mind of a GP - which was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club.