Hoffman A. (2021). Comics and Medicine: Using Graphic Narratives in Pharmacy Education. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 8797. Advance online publication. https://doi-org.ezproxymcp.flo.org/10.5688/ajpe8797
ABSTRACT:
Over the last decade, interest in comics as an educational tool has increased. Far from the roots of their superhero
origins, the artform of comics (also known as graphic novels) now includes a vast array of fictional and nonfictional
storytelling. The pervasiveness of comics in popular culture is at an all-time high; in addition to blockbuster movies,
comics have been adapted to television and stage, have been nominated for prestigious literary awards, and have been adopted as teaching tools across the spectrum of education. Of interest to the medical professions, a growing section of comics publishing is focused on autobiographical and medical narratives. In 2007 Williams coined the term “graphic medicine” to describe comics that embed the medical narratives of patients or caregivers to tell personal stories of illness and health. Graphic medicine, therefore, is a unique form of narrative medicine, an area of teaching and study that has been recognized as a way to promote healing in medical practice. Comics are a unique form of literature in that they use a multilayered language of image and text to create a meaning that neither component can separately convey. Graphic medical narratives have captured the attention of the medical community, leading to the development of a graphic medicine conference, and graphic medicine narratives being published in major medical journals. This change has opened a door to potential benefits for patient care
as well as new arenas of knowing and self-expression for both learners and educators in health professions education. The purpose of this commentary is to familiarize readers in pharmacy education to the concepts of graphic medicine and to introduce areas where graphic medicine may be useful as a teaching tool in pharmacy curricula.