My Life, My Story: Jennifer Peterson, Mindworks member- helping people tell their stories.

The Project for Advancing Healthcare Stewardship (PAHS) welcomed Narrative Mindworks member Jennifer (Jenny) Peterson, as guest blogger.

Bringing 25+ years of consumer research expertise, Jennifer is passionate about unlocking insights that provide a deeper understanding of healthcare experiences, and support clinical andpatient well-being.

Jennifer Peterson

Jenny draws on her Narrative Medicine background to develop creative approaches that strengthen clinicians’ ability to absorb, interpret, and respond to patient stories—while also deepening their capacity for self-reflection. She serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, MN, and contributes as a writer for the My Life, My Story program. A former Senior Director at General Mills, Jennifer holds a BA in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas (MN), a Master of Liberal Arts from the University of Minnesota, and a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University.

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“Hi, I’m Jen and I’m with a program here called My Life, My Story.” I’d been practicing my opening lines all morning, already overheating behind my mask and overwhelmed by the “hospital-ness” of the Acute Rehab unit. Being surrounded by 24 patients in serious medical situations suddenly frightened me. I felt vulnerable, and intrusive. I would soon learn what vulnerability really looked like ….Patients poked and prodded, awaiting test results and doctor rounds and help getting to the bathroom…missing their lives, their families, their dogs. Inhaling sharply to bolster my courage, I knocked cheerfully (is that possible?) on the door of the first patient. I hoped he could see the smile behind my mask. Mercifully, “Chris” agreed to tell me about himself, his willingness perhaps at first stemming from the boredom of longer term hospital stays. I settled into the folding chair across from him.

We began. Many stories later, I would still be nervous at each knock. I learned to better control my gut instinct to cheer people up, and instead, just listen. I remain amazed that anyone would speak to me at all, given their situations. But they did. Their stories are still with me. Stories a medical chart could never capture. Successes, mistakes, resurrections, loves, losses, lives…And I remember, with gratitude, every single one.