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My Life, My Story

My Life, My Story (MLMS) is a VA program where Veterans are interviewed about their life story. The interview is written up into a first person narrative, reviewed with the Veteran and, with the Veteran’s permission, entered into the healthcare record as a resource for the care team to know more about the Veteran as a person, in their own words.

My Life My Story

My Life, My Story (MLMS) is a VA program where Veterans are interviewed about their life story. The interview is written up into a first person narrative, reviewed with the Veteran and, with the Veteran’s permission, entered into the healthcare record as a resource for the care team to know more about the Veteran as a person, in their own words.  

At VA Boston, we have framed MLMS as a structured educational intervention to enhance Veteran-centered, Whole Health care, with a focus on knowing the whole person and building the therapeutic relationship.  MLMS allows healthcare providers to learn who Veterans are beyond their diagnoses.  

From April 2016 to January 2021 over 1,000 stories have been written at VA Boston with involvement from over 800 learners-ranging from students to graduate level-from various health and social professions training programs including: physician assistant, medicine, social work, pharmacy, psychology, speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing.  Over 5,000 stories have been collected nationwide across 60 VA medical centers and the program has been spreading to non-VA hospitals in the Boston medical community.

Brief Implementation Guide (PDF)

Manuscripts

Teaching Pharmacy Students and Residents Patient-Centered Care Through Interviewing Veterans (PDF)
The My Life My Story Program Sustained Impact of Veterans Personal Narratives on Healthcare Providers 5 Years After Implementation (PDF)
My Life My Story Teaching PCC Work Older Adults Nathan 2019 (PDF)
Using Life Stories to Connect Veterans and Providers (PDF)
My Life, My Story: Integrating a Life Story Narrative Component Into Medical Student Curricula (PDF)
My Life, My Story; Keeping Medical Students and Veterans Socially Connected While Physically Distanced; FedPract2021 (PDF)
What Do You Want Us To Know-JPtExp-2022 (PDF)
My Life, My Story and Identity Disclosure among Transgender and Gender Diverse Veterans-A Program Evaluation (PDF)
Program Evaluation of My Life, My Story: Virtual Storytelling in the COVID-19 Age (PDF)
Traumatic disclosures in the life stories of older Vietnam era veterans (PDF)
Harnessing Patient Life Stories to Engage Medical Trainees in Strengthening Veteran-Provider Relationships (PDF)
Listening more and measuring less: Student and faculty perspectives on social narratives in care for older adults (PDF)

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