Prompts From Writing Workshop Cultivate Reflection on Personal Health Experiences

Over the course of 90-minutes, participants of writing workshop, “Bodies of Work: Writing Through Illness, Injury, and Recovery,” were guided through a series of reflective prompts to explore their personal experiences with illness, injury, and recovery through thoughtful writing.  

The workshop was hosted on April 29th by Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde, a DNP, family nurse practitioner, and clinical assistant professor, alongside Julian Ankey, the co-director of the Visiting Writers Series and director of Native American Programs at WSUV. 

It was established in the beginning that participants could share some of their writings from the workshop with nursing students, which would allow them to better understand the lived experiences of patients and how to better approach future endeavors with empathy and humility. 

The first prompt, “Map of Our Scars,” asked participants to reflect on a physical or emotional scar that they hold personally or is carried by someone they know. Additionally, the prompt emboldened writing about the origin and care received in relation to the scar, and how it might have impacted their identity or self-understanding.   

The hosts encouraged participants to let their thoughts flow freely onto the page without stopping to self-edit: “This is free writing. You don’t have to edit yourself. Just, like, blah, blah, blah,” one of the hosts said.  

The second prompt, “Lost in Translation,” was introduced after a discussion of everyone’s writing. It encouraged participants to write about a time when they felt misunderstood by a provider. This included having to ‘translate’ personal values or cultural norms into medical terms and what may have remained unsaid due to social or cultural barriers.  

To end the session, there were several options to choose from for the last prompt, which each touched on different experiences related to healing and receiving medical care. 

“Prescription for Change” touched on similar themes from “Lost in Translation” by asking to describe a time when personal values, cultural beliefs, home remedies, or ancestral knowledge clashed with a healthcare provider’s instructions or perspective. 

Another prompt, “Breaking Point,” called for recollection of having to rely entirely on someone else for a basic physical need. Ankey clarified that healthcare professionals call this “Activity of Daily Living” (ADL). It asked the writer to reflect on how it felt to be dependent on others. 

Alternatively, “Total Recall” asked participants to recall a healthcare interaction where they felt truly seen as a human being. The prompt encouraged reflection on if there was a specific moment, phrase, or look the provider gave which fostered that feeling of affirmation. It also asked how that experience might have shaped their trust in medical institutions moving forward. 

The last two options were more metaphysical rather than a reflection of a specific experience. “Letter from Your Body to a Future Nurse” asked what a participant’s body wants a nurse or doctor to know that isn’t written in their medical chart.  

Lastly, “To Be or Not to Be a Healer” asked participants to define what “healer” means to them. Whether it be in the literal sense like a doctor or nurse, or something more unconventional like a friend, family member, or even a pet.