NBM Talks: Podcast from the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab

We're kicking off a new season of NBM Talks! From insightful conversations to guided writing exercises and more, we're excited to introduce our audience to fresh ideas in the field.

In this episode, Audrey Yap and Janet Rodriguez (Accessibility Theme Co-Leads for the Temerty Faculty of Medicine's Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum) discuss their collaboration with community partners to promote a more inclusive, social model of disability within medical education.

They explore the structural barriers rooted in historical models of medicine and elaborate on their goal to integrate the principles of disability justice into the MD curriculum, challenge ableism, and foster lifelong learning among future physicians.

About Our Guests:

Audrey Yap is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Toronto. She works as a physiatrist at Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital's Neurorehabilitation Program. For over 10 years as a teacher of accessibility content for MD learners, she has partnered with lived experience experts and patient partners. As a physician, Audrey promotes a holistic approach to patient care that acknowledges how each person has their own unique set of life experiences that influence care needs.

Janet Rodriguez is a health mentor with the Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare and Education and co-leads the "Accessibility for All" project, a social justice initiative based at the St. Michael's Hospital Family Health Team. Previously, she co-chaired the Disability Justice Working Group at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

We conclude our summer reruns by revisiting this conversation with poet, educator, narrative-based medicine practitioner, and friend of the lab, Alisha Savatti.

In this episode, Alisha discusses her work, narrative-based medicine teaching, writing tips, and connections to her life on Bela Farm. She also shares her work and interest in food as medicine.

Alisha is leading an upcoming workshop at the NBM Lab! Nourishing Narratives: Creative Strategies for Wellbeing returns and starts online October 8, 2026. Through a rich spread of stories, explore how narrative can serve as a vehicle for self-care and the care of others. Join us over the course of 4 highly interactive sessions.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Jay Baruch shares an exercise he regularly returns to and begins writing workshops with, anchored in the belief that writing reveals something interesting about character.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Rita Charon describes a narrative-based medicine activity she led for a group of palliative care professionals based on an artistic piece from Romare Bearden's "A Black Odyssey" collage series.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Conor Mc Donnell has launched several creative and academic projects since we last spoke on the podcast.

Conor is the Editor-in-Chief of Case Repertory, an initiative that seeks to reimagine the genre of the traditional case report and amplify the creative work of our NBM Lab community members. You can read these pieces on our website:

Winter 2026 Issue:

https://narrativebasedmedicine.ca/updates/letter-from-the-editor-winter-2026/

Spring 2026 Issue:

https://narrativebasedmedicine.ca/updates/letter-from-the-editor-spring-2026/

Stay tuned for our third issue that will be released at the end of summer. To celebrate, we're revisiting the episode when Conor reflected on his introduction to narrative-based medicine and the value that writing has brought to his personal and professional life.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Allan Peterkin (Program Director at the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab) recently received the National Award for Excellence in the Health Humanities awarded by the Canadian Association of Health Humanities.

To celebrate this extraordinary achievement, we're revisiting this conversation where Allan shares how he weaves his passion for medicine and literature throughout his professional career. Allan also touches on how he sees the field of narrative-based medicine evolving and the importance of honouring stories in the practice of medicine.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Sarah Kim encourages us to imagine what's possible with a prompt of imagination and magical powers. Find a quiet spot and pick up a pencil for this guided writing exercise that will help you pay closer attention to the mind-body connection and find greater clarity in your thoughts.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠⁠⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

John Launer invites us to draw inspiration from an ordinary moment in this guided writing exercise. Begin with a recent moment or memory, pick up where the events left off, and let your imagination ponder where the story might go next.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

Summer is here and we're kicking off the season by revisiting a few of our earlier episodes.

Today, we're rerunning this conversation with Sarah Kim (Temerty Medicine Medical Education Health Humanities Theme Lead).

Sarah brings her attentive eye to such diverse issues as medical education, mindfulness, high performance, and the practitioner’s body, considering how they all relate back to the questions raised by narrative-based medicine. She also reflects on her own professional journey and the value of engaging with the arts and humanities in medical training and practice.

Interested in hearing more? Sarah has interviewed colleagues and other Temerty Medicine Theme Leads at the University of Toronto about their wide-ranging work. Browse our podcast catalogue to listen to these great conversations.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.

We're celebrating 50 episodes of NBM Talks! To mark the occasion, this special episode was recorded live at the NBM Lab when members of our community gathered in Toronto for a celebration of how far we've come and the collaborative spirit that keeps us going.

A roundtable discussion featuring lab leaders (Damian Tarnopolsky, Karen Gold, Sarah Kim, and Allan Peterkin) in conversation with the audience, this anniversary episode offers reflections on our journey and thoughts on the future of narrative-based medicine as its reach continues to expand.

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Follow "NBM Talks" for future episodes, where we explore the transformative impact and reach of narrative-based medicine with talented guests. Visit the ⁠Narrative-Based Medicine Lab⁠ to learn about our work and offerings.