Holistic readings: From chekhov to narrative medicine

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to show how, in the short story “A Doctor‟s Visit,” the Russian writer Anton Chekhov, himself a physician, creates a fictional narrative in which he draws attention to aspects of clinical practice that are rather overlooked today, namely: observation and evaluation of the environment in which patients live and aspects of their family, social and even sexual outlook, along with the crucial importance of the interpersonal dialogue-based relationship between doctor and patient. The attention indirectly drawn to this issue by Chekhov is here correlated with the current situation within the domain of clinical practice by invoking the concept of evidence-based medicine as the currently dominant paradigm in medical practice, and with the need for a complementary approach, namely by narrative-based medicine or narrative medicine.