“Writing meets you where you are. Writing can wrap itself around any situation you bring to it.”

- Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, MD

In this rich conversation, host Dr. Jennifer Reid welcomes Dr. Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, pediatrician, former nurse, passionate advocate for narrative medicine, and author of A Prescription for Burnout: Restorative Writing for Healthcare Professionals. Together, they explore how reflective writing can serve as a genuine antidote to clinician burnout. Drawing on her own experience navigating her son’s traumatic brain injury, decades of medical practice, and hundreds of writing workshops, Dr. Roy-Bornstein makes a compelling case that putting pain into language is not a luxury. It’s a tool for life.

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Key Topics

* What narrative medicine actually means and how Rita Charon’s framework at Columbia centers the patient’s story as the foundation of clinical practice

* The neuroscience behind reflective writing: why naming painful emotions deactivates distress regions in the brain, and why just 15 to 20 minutes a day for four days can produce lasting relief

* How Dr. Roy-Bornstein’s son’s accident, a devastating drunk-driving crash that left him with a serious traumatic brain injury and took his girlfriend’s life, became the crucible for her own writing practice and public advocacy

About Dr. Carolyn Roy-Bornstein

Dr. Carolyn Roy-Bornstein is a board-certified pediatrician, former practicing nurse, and Writer in Residence at the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Program, where she champions a narrative medicine curriculum. She is also the author of several books, including, most recently, A Prescription for Burnout: Restorative Writing for Healthcare Professionals.

Her website for more information on her latest book, A Prescription for Burnout: Restorative Writing for Healthcare Professionals, with nearly 100 writing prompts, and a schedule of upcoming workshops: carolynroybornstein.com

Connect with Your Host, Dr. Jennifer Reid

Dr. Jennifer Reid is a physician, the host of A Mind of Her Own, and the author of Guilt Free: Reclaiming Your Life from Unreasonable Expectations — available at major retailers.

🌐 Website: jenniferreidmd.com Instagram: @JenReidMD Threads: @JenReidMD

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