Rita Charon
USA
Rita Charon is the Bernard Schoenberg Professor of Social Medicine, founding chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, and professor of medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. She is also the executive director of Columbia Narrative Medicine.
A general internist and literary scholar, Professor Charon is a founder of the field of narrative medicine. Her research explores narrative medicine training, reflective practice, health care justice, and health care team effectiveness. She holds an MD from Harvard University and a PhD in English from Columbia University.
Professor Charon has contributed to four books on narrative medicine as an author, co-author, or co-editor and has published widely in medical and literary journals. In 2018, she delivered the National Endowment for the Humanities Jefferson Lecture, its highest academic distinction.