10 AM to 1 PM
Soon-to-be doctor and medical humanities researcher Lara will lead participants through the art of medical memoir, writing that focuses on health and illness journeys from the point of view of both patient and practitioner. This workshop, which will be held in the beautiful and serene settings of HBF Glasshouses, will explore the act of story telling around illness and the use of creative writing as a cathartic and educational tool.
The first half of the class will include reading medical memoir and discussing the reoccurring themes that appear within these texts. Some work will explore the experience of patients while others will investigate the point of view of healthcare workers and what it might mean to write about a health experience that is not your own.
The second half of the day will include time to reflect and write on the participants own experiences. While sharing is not necessary, it can be a good opportunity to gain feedback or share with the group.
If you would be interested in attending this workshop but have a financial barrier that would prevent you, please contact emma@hugoburgefoundation.org.
About The Facilitator
Lara is a final year medical student at Cardiff University. She is due to graduate and begin work as a newly qualified doctor in the summer of 2025. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2024 with first class honours after completing an intercalated BMedSci (Hons) degree in Literature and Medicine. She is currently completing a post graduate research project at the University of Edinburgh which focuses on medical memoir. Lara’s research interest considers the intersection of life-writing, narrative medicine and medical ethics. She is particularly interested in the therapeutic and educational benefits of creative non-fiction. In her medical career, she has received commendation for excellence in professionalism and nomination for the Dean’s list for outstanding contribution to medical studies at Cardiff University for the years 2020-2021 and 2022-2023. For the year 2024-2025, she was awarded a Cardiff University SURGAM award for outstanding commitment to improving the medical student experience. She worked as an immuniser throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has been a speaker at various conferences, including the All Wales Cancer and Genomics forum in 2024 where she presented work on genetic testing for advanced breast cancer.
