Narrative practices rely on clarity of language to describe core principles, popular practices, and evolving pedagogy. We have compiled a “starter list” of current terms associated with narrative medicine, narrative ethics, and narrative research and analysis. These terms, which converge at the intersection of narrative, healthcare and well-being, invite us to explore how stories and storytelling can enhance mutual understanding, inform ethical decision-making, and improve care for ourselves, clients, patients, and community members.

(This is not an exhaustive list and does not include all emerging practice areas. See one we’ve missed? Have one to add? Please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., subject line “Glossary Update Suggestion.”

• Healthcare Narratives: Stories told by healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and other professionals, about their experiences, challenges, and ethical dilemmas encountered in clinical practice.
• Narrative Analysis: The process of examining stories and narratives to uncover patterns, themes, and meanings, often used in qualitative research methods.
• Narrative Competence: The ability of healthcare providers to listen to, understand, and respond to the narratives of patients and colleagues in a meaningful and empathetic way.
• Narrative Ethics: A branch of bioethics that explores the ethical dimensions of healthcare through the lens of storytelling and narrative understanding.
• Narrative Ethics Consultation: A process in which experts in narrative ethics provide guidance and support to healthcare teams facing complex ethical dilemmas through the analysis of stories and narratives.
• Narrative Humility: An idea developed by Sayantani DasGupta, narrative humility makes spaces for ambiguity and self-contradiction in the receiving and telling of story.
• Narrative Identity: The construction of self and identity through storytelling, including how individuals understand and interpret their own experiences within a narrative framework.
• Narrative Inquiry: A research approach that emphasizes the collection and analysis of stories and personal narratives to understand social phenomena, including healthcare practices and ethical dilemmas.
• Narrative Medicine: An approach to medical practice that focuses on the stories of patients and healthcare providers to improve clinical care, foster empathy, and promote healing.
• Narrative Medicine Program: Educational initiatives, often within medical schools or healthcare institutions, that integrate narrative approaches into medical education, clinical practice, and research.
• Narrative Practice Research: Research methodologies that use narratives and storytelling as primary data sources to investigate healthcare practices, patient experiences, and ethical issues.
• Reflective Practice: A method of self-examination and critical reflection used by healthcare professionals to explore their own values, biases, and experiences in relation to patient care and ethical decision-making.
• Narrative Reciprocity: A term popularized by Rita Charon, narrative reciprocity refers to a realization where the power hierarchy is diminished, and even undermined. Narrative is viewed as the gift, and there exists a feeling of reciprocal generosity between giver and receiver.
• Patient Narratives: Personal stories and accounts shared by patients about their experiences with illness, healthcare, and the healthcare system, which can provide valuable insights for improving care and understanding patient perspectives.