Rita Charon, MD, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. A general internist with a primary care practice in Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Charon took a Ph.D. in English when she realized how central is storytelling and listening to stories to the work of doctors and patients. She directs the Humanities and Medicine curriculum for P&S and teaches literature, narrative ethics, and medical interviewing. She is editor-in-chief of the journal Literature and Medicine and Principal Investigator on research projects that study patient-physician communication and the outcomes of narrative training for medical students and health professionals. Her work in narrative medicine has been recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American College of Physicians, the Society for Health and Human Values, and the Society of General Internal Medicine. She is the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residence and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. She has published and lectured extensively on the ways in which narrative training helps to increase empathy and reflection in health professionals and students. She is co-editor of Stories Matter: The Role of Narrative in Medical Ethics.
