{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T04:55:20Z","timestamp":1781585720903,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781568000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Rural medical education requires learning approaches that connect learners with the lived realities of rural practice. One structured approach is the Living Library model, using narratives of lived experiences of rural healthcare professionals as knowledge resource. The benefits on learner outcomes are well-established, such as increased empathy and improved understanding of social and professional contexts of health, but little is known on the impact of telling their stories on the storytellers. This study explored what it means for rural healthcare professionals to serve as \u201chuman books\u201d in a Living Library.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to describe how human books experienced sharing their personal and professional stories to medical learners across all stages of training. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with human books and data were analyzed thematically to understand the meaning of this experience.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Three main themes emerged: (i) participants felt a strong sense of responsibility to share their experiences to inform and inspire future rural practitioners; (ii) story preparation was emotionally challenging and required psychological readiness; and (iii) storytelling offered personal benefits, including connection, reframing past experiences, and renewed sense of purpose and meaning in their work. Participants described being a \u201chuman book\u201d as both educational and personally meaningful, affirming their professional identity as rural practitioners.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Living Library model is an innovative educational approach that offers dual benefits for learners and storytellers. Such narrative-based initiatives can enrich rural medical education by providing learners with authentic insights into healthcare in rural areas, while empowering the storytellers through the validation of their unique career paths. This can deepen rural healthcare professionals\u2019 understanding of their roles within the community, fostering agency and resilience, thereby enhancing wellbeing and professional satisfaction. Living Libraries can complement traditional curriculum and support rural workforce development in Canada and other underserved settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1850674","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T04:28:14Z","timestamp":1781584094000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Inspiring the next generation: a qualitative study of rural healthcare professionals\u2019 experiences as \u201cbooks\u201d in a living library"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Grace","family":"Perez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Distributed Learning and Rural Initiatives, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaia","family":"Thauberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pariza","family":"Fazal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]},{"name":"Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eron","family":"Muel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aaron","family":"Johnston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Distributed Learning and Rural Initiatives, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]},{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, Canada"]},{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary","place":["Calgary, AB, 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