What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart

What Changes When We Treat Stories Like Data with Dr. Katharine Smart

Digital storytelling can move a room to honesty in minutes, creating space for real talk about burnout, shame, and the human side of medicine. This episode we connect with Dr. Katharine Smart [https://drkatharinesmart.com/] and reflect on how short films can help clinicians and families feel seen as whole people and how stories can fuel better care and stronger advocacy.We talk through what it looks like when digital stories show up at conferences like the Canadian Conference on Physician Health, why the multimedia format holds attention in a distracted world, and how vulnerability can feel safer when the “work” is done before anyone steps on stage. We also dig into the clinician’s role as a receiver of stories and how deep listening changes care, especially in pediatrics, mental health, and complex family consults. If you’ve ever wondered how to share 18 years of context in one appointment, you’ll hear why a short digital story can reveal the whole person beyond the chart. Episode Key Messages * What a digital story is and why the format works * Using physician and family stories to open mental health conversations at conferences like the Canadian Conference on Physician Health * Why vulnerability lands faster * Shame in medical culture and how storytelling can soften it * Shifting from acute care to deep listening and longer consults * Using digital stories to support complex care and transitions to adult care * Accessibility and ethics, underrepresented voices, consent, and story ownership * Workshop story circles as community building * A citizen digital story campaign to drive healthcare accountability and reform Other Links Mentioned * Read this episode's blog post [https://commonlanguagedst.org/blog/treat-strories-like-data] * Watch the CMA panel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep3JkoP3AkM] * Learn more about Digital Storytelling & Healthcare Provider Wellness [http://commonlanguagedst.org/physician-wellness] * Listen to Spark Conversations - a podcast by Children's Healthcare Canada [https://www.childrenshealthcarecanada.ca/en/spark/podcast/] * Will we see you at the Children's Healthcare Canada conference [https://www.childrenshealthcarecanada.ca/en/news-events/annual-conference/] in Calgary? * Check out Health Signals with Dr. Alika Lafontaine [https://www.youtube.com/@HealthSignalsMD/podcasts] * The Outrage Cure [https://www.theoutragecure.com/] by Dr. Alika Lafontaine Other Episodes Mentioned * Ep 23 with Dr. Daisy Dulay [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/the-role-of-digital-narratives-in-healthcare-innovation]  * Ep 48 with Dr. Will Bynum [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/shame-story-healing-in-medicine] of the Shame Lab About Our Guest Dr. Katharine Smart [https://drkatharinesmart.com/] is a pediatrician, national medical leader, and unapologetic advocate for children who believes healthcare systems don’t change unless we’re willing to challenge them. Based in Canada’s north and the Okanagan, she works at the intersection of clinical care, policy, and community partnership to improve outcomes for children and families in rural and remote regions. She is the past president of the Canadian Medical Association and, in 2021, became only the 10th woman to lead the organization in its 155-year history. Named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Dr. Smart is widely recognized for her leadership on health equity, primary care, and combating medical misinformation. A sought-after keynote speaker, media commentator, and podcast host, Dr. Smart brings evidence, urgency, and candour to conversations about the future of healthcare — and why getting it right for children is the only way forward. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Through Her Lens: Cameras For Girls with Amina Mohamed

On this episode of Co-Created we're joined by Amina Mohamed, the Founder and Executive Director of Cameras For Girls, to talk about what happens when a founder story becomes a digital story and why that format can reveal the “three-dimensional” truth you can’t always reach in a talk, a webinar, or a standard nonprofit promo. Amina takes us from her family’s refugee journey from Uganda to Canada, through years in film and television, and back to Uganda where she meets young women facing limits on education and opportunity. From that turning point, Cameras For Girls grows into a practical pathway into media careers, combining photography training, ethical storytelling, business skills, and the gift of a camera with the real goal: helping young women enter male-dominated media spaces and land fair paid jobs in places like Uganda and Tanzania. Episode Key Messages * Amina’s origin story from Uganda to Canada and back again * Why Cameras for Girls focuses on fair paid jobs * Teaching photography, business skills, and ethical storytelling * Rejecting extractive storytelling and top-down development * Turning a “why” into a three-minute digital story * Editing surprises and choosing images responsibly * Using a founder video for donors, funding, and social media * Encouraging participants to tell their own stories in their own voice Other Links Mentioned * Read this episode's blog post [https://commonlanguagedst.org/blog/through-her-lens] * Watch Amina's digital story [https://youtu.be/WY4Kt9dpYrk?si=SZYDv4v3IrtYGMRN] * Learn more about Cameras For Girls [https://www.camerasforgirls.org/] About Our Guest Amina Mohamed is the Founder and Executive Director of Cameras For Girls, a Canadian charity she launched in 2018 to address gender inequality in Africa’s male-dominated media industry. Born in Uganda, Amina came to Canada as a refugee after her family was exiled under the regime of Idi Amin. Growing up between cultures, she discovered photography as a powerful way to express herself when words failed. That early experience shaped the vision behind Cameras For Girls: creating opportunities for young women across Africa to find their voice through visual storytelling.Through a year-long training program combining photography, ethical storytelling, and business skills, Cameras For Girls equips young women with the tools, training, and mentorship needed to build sustainable careers in media. Participants receive professional cameras, hands-on instruction, and ongoing career support designed to help them enter and succeed in the workforce. To date, the organization has trained nearly 200 women through in-person programs across East Africa and has reached more than 2,000 additional participants through its Online Learning Hub. Amina is also a leading advocate for ethical storytelling, challenging outdated and colonial narratives often present in international media. Her work emphasizes dignity-centered storytelling that honours the lived experiences of the women and communities whose stories are shared. Her leadership and impact have earned international recognition. Amina has spoken at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Summit, been featured in publications including Vogue, and received the Estée Lauder Beautiful Forces Grant in recognition of her work advancing women’s leadership.Today, Amina continues to expand Cameras For Girls’ programs across Africa while advocating for gender equality, ethical media practices, and new pathways for women to build sustainable careers in storytelling and journalism. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Double the Magic: Storytelling for Healing and Impact with Melody Williamson

Cameras off. Quiet chat. A stack of slides. Then a short digital story plays and suddenly the room wakes up. That flip from passive listening to real connection is what we’re chasing, and it’s why we keep coming back to digital storytelling as a tool for healing, community building, and change. We’re joined by Melody Williamson, a Level 3 digital storytelling facilitator, trainer, and longtime collaborator inside the Common Language Digital Storytelling Collective. Melody shares how digital storytelling keeps expanding as a tool for healing, community, and real-world change. We share what we’re learning from nonprofit projects, research partnerships, facilitator training, and the moments when a story makes people come alive. Episode Key Messages * Melody’s roots in storytelling, inclusion, and group work * How Wellspring uses digital stories with patients, families, staff, volunteers, and caregivers * Why nonprofits benefit from a wider library of perspectives * Collaborations with researchers, including projects tied to antibiotic resistance * Story Slam as a catalyst for community healing and new partnerships * Digital storytelling facilitator training as “double the magic” through teaching others * Mentorship meetings, story review, entrepreneurship support, and continuing education * Bringing digital stories to conferences to spark connection beyond slides * AI tools, interpretive meaning, and why story arcs change engagement Other Links Mentioned * Read this episode's blog post * Listen to Melody's original Co-Created episode [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/66d218b2c5079dde6154c948] * Get your tickets to the Story Slam [https://commonlanguagedst.org/story-slam] * Learn more about the Common Language Level 1 Facilitator Training [https://commonlanguagedst.org/facilitator-training-programs] * Check out the Common Language Collective [https://commonlanguagedst.org/membership] Other Episodes Mentioned * Ep 28 with Wellspring [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/healing-narratives-wellsprings-innovative-workshops] * Ep 46 with Gillian Hatto [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/from-grief-to-community-crafting-meaning-after-loss] * Ep 54 with Becky McCall [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/when-science-meets-story] About Our Guest Melody Williamson, MSc., B.A., of Melody Williamson Stories, is a Level 3 Common Language Digital Storytelling Facilitator. Like all of us, Melody has been a storyteller all of her life - from reading books on her mother’s lap to a career in professional theatre, to her consulting work in equity and social justice issues.In recent years, she has combined all of her skills and experience into her passion for giving voice to those voices that aren’t typically heard and creating connection between people through digital storytelling. Her word is "Moment-us" and she loves helping people connect with meaningful moments in their lives! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

When Science Meets Story: Lessons from a PhD Defense with Becky McCall

Catch up with Dr. Becky McCall after she defends her PhD and unpack what it takes to research digital storytelling inside a biomedical topic like antimicrobial resistance. We also get real about what stories can and cannot do on their own, then zoom out to targeting, dissemination, and new projects that translate stories into health system change. Episode Key Messages * finishing a seven-year PhD and surviving the defense * using digital storytelling to engage antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic resistance * defending an arts-based method through a behavioural science lens * building projects beyond Storybug [https://storybug.org.uk/ ], including care home storytelling * “digital fragmentation” and why incomplete records affect antibiotic decisions * targeting stories through narrative framing and audience investment * planning with partners, storytellers, organizations, and funders * what Becky wishes she had known at the start of her PhD * recruiting storytellers through trust and patient organizations * the Common Language Story Slam [https://commonlanguagedst.org/story-slam] as a model for shared viewing and discussion Other Links Mentioned * Read this episode's blog post [https://commonlanguagedst.org/blog/when-science-meets-story] * Check out the Storybug website [https://storybug.org.uk/] * Listen to Becky's original Co-Created episode [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/from-stilettos-to-stigma-unpacking-stories-that-stick] Other Episodes Mentioned * Ep 6 with Melody Williamson [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/66d218b2c5079dde6154c948] * Ep 32 with Mike Wilson [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/accessing-creativity-through-the-art-of-story] of Loughborough University * Ep 48 with Dr. Will Bynum [https://shows.acast.com/co-created/episodes/shame-story-healing-in-medicine] of the Shame Lab About Our Guest Dr. Becky McCall is based in London, UK, and has recently completed her first set of five digital stories that focus on people with experiences of antibiotic resistant infection. The work forms part of Becky’s PhD research (University College London) and aims to help address a gap in public engagement with one of the world’s top 10 humanitarian health crises (antimicrobial resistance-AMR). Becky is also a medical journalist writing for both medical and consumer press, recently including Foresight Global Health, Medscape.com, The Lancet, The Times and the Mail on Sunday. She has also worked in radio and TV. She'll make any excuse to travel; seeking inspiration in places and most importantly, people - firmly believing everyone has a story to tell. Connect with Becky McCall here [https://storybug.org.uk/contact/]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Health Promoting Experiences of Storytellers: A Meta-Synthesis

Fear of childbirth does not always look like panic. Sometimes it shows up as silence, stoicism, anger, or a private sense that you have lost control of your own body and your own story. We sit down with nurse, midwife, and researcher Jonathan Dominguez Hernandez to talk about how digital storytelling in healthcare can help people make meaning from vulnerable moments, and why the process needs strong ethics when trauma is close to the surface. We break down his meta-synthesis findings and why narrative, ethics, and facilitation style can determine whether storytelling becomes support, advocacy, or too much. Episode Key Messages • Jonathan’s path from pediatric nursing to midwifery and public health research • What it is like being a male midwife across countries and workplace cultures • How digital storytelling training shaped Jonathan’s research direction • Why he shifted from group workshops to one on one online storytelling • Ethics, consent, ownership, and when stories can or cannot be shared • How the meta-synthesis was built from qualitative studies and assessed for confidence • Four key themes: re-authoring lived experience, processing emotions, ripple effects of empathy, gaining agency • Trauma informed facilitation and the role of distress protocols • What research misses when it ignores the narratives people borrow and retell • How salutogenesis and sense of coherence guide narrative analysis in fear of childbirth Other Links Mentioned * Read this episode's blog post [https://commonlanguagedst.org/blog/health-promoting-experiences-of-storytellers] * Read Jonathan's meta-synthesis from Frontiers in Digital Health [https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1607897/full] * Learn more about Jonathan's work [https://www.zhaw.ch/en/about-us/person/domg] About Our Guest Jonathan Dominguez Hernandez is a researcher, educator, and midwife specialising in public health, Evidence-Based practice, and qualitative health research. He currently works as a researcher and lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, where his work focuses on sex- and gender-sensitive healthcare, perinatal mental health, and inclusive approaches to care. With a background that combines clinical practice, public health, law, and education, Jonathan has worked across the UK, Austria, Switzerland, and Spain in both frontline maternity care and academic leadership roles. His research explores how narratives and digital storytelling can support health and wellbeing, and he is particularly interested in translating research into practical, compassionate, and Evidence-Based guidelines for clinical practice.  Alongside teaching and research, he contributes to international guideline development and interdisciplinary projects aimed at improving maternal and perinatal health outcomes. Jonathan is currently completing a PhD in Public Health at Lancaster University, focusing on dialogical narrative analysis and health-promoting storytelling in women’s reproductive health. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.