Narrative medicine as a good tool for patient-dentist discourse.

Dear Editor

It was with interest that we read the first qualitative assessment of dental education in Taiwan by Hsu et al.. In this study, the most crucial non-operational capability is patient-dentist discourse evaluated by querying patients and responding to questions. In addition, Tsai et al. also reported that the professional communication skills should be emphasized in dental preparatory training program.

Narrative is defined as a spoken or written account of an event or events. Befitting discourse could help identify the purpose of the current visit and patient compliance, especially in the first visit. Charon first integrated narrative and medicine into daily medical practice by the use of narrative as a tool to analysis of the doctor–patient relationship and interpret information on the patient's experience of illness. Nowadays, “Narrative Medicine” has developed as a theoretical and operative approach for addressing the emotional and sociological aspects of persons affected by disease, health care professionals, caregivers, and family members.

Curriculum design and learning outcome are the two critical infrastructures of dental education. The competency-based education and training usually emphasizes the assessment of clinical competence and skill via summative objective structured clinical examination.,, Recently, holistic healthcare, a form of patient-centered medical service, is the essential core value emphasized in the development of dentist. Exception of good clinical skills, patient-dentist discourse with the appropriate attitude and good communication skills are also very crucial. For our opinions, narrative medicine seems to be a powerful instrument for improving patient-dentist discourse during the cultivated-education of dental students and residents in Taiwan.

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.