Background
This study was guided by the theory of narrative medicine, first proposed by Rita Charon in 2001 and defined as the ability to acknowledge, absorb, interpret, and act on the stories and plights of others [Narrative-based medical interventions have a positive impact on medical students; such interventions are designed to help students hone their listening and observational skills, can stimulate self-reflection and empathy, help students think about patients from a different perspective, and are meaningful tools for motivating medical students’ professional and personal development [During nursing education, educators are increasingly concerned about teaching professionalism [Empathy is a multidimensional concept that includes emotional, cognitive, moral, behavioral and relational dimensions [Jean Watson believed that nursing humanistic care ability was the nurses’ externalization of humanistic literacy into the clinical work and abilities to serve the patients consciously and creatively, and outlined 10 carative factors/caritas processes that include the development of humanistic-altruistic system of values, the development of helping-trusting human-caring relationship, the instillation and the enabling faith and hope, and the provision for a supportive, protective, and/or corrective mental, social, spiritual environment [As far as we know, there is a relative consensus on the efficacy of narrative medicine in cultivating empathy and humanistic care ability of medical students in both qualitative and quantitative studies, but the role of narrative medicine in professionalism in quantitative studies is lacking in the existing literature, which may be of significance to clinical practice and nursing education. In addition, our research focuses on bridging the gap in medical humanities education for undergraduate nursing students during their clinical practice period. We encourage students to combine theory and practice. With a strong theoretical foundation in narrative medicine, students can get a real sense of professionalism, empathy and humanistic care during their clinical placements with patients and healthcare professionals, and improve their own narrative writing skills. Therefore, this study designed a 12-month narrative medicine theory learning and narrative writing project to explore the application effect of narrative medicine in clinical practice on the professionalism, empathy ability and humanistic care ability of nursing students, as follows:Does the narrative writing approach based on narrative medicine theory improve nursing students’ level of professionalism, empathy, and humanistic care ability in clinical practice?Are there differences in the level of development of professionalism, empathy, and humanistic care ability of nursing students in the clinical setting with narrative writing methods based on narrative medicine theory compared to traditional practice logs?