Air date: November 29, 2009

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Time now for something new: Dr. Rich Frankel is both a health services researcher and a medical educator at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

As a researcher he has spent 30 years trying to improve care by studying the ways in which medical professionals and patients talk to one another.

As a medical educator he has focused on the critical experiences that form the pathway from medical novice to medical professional.

So a big part of Rich’s job is to listen -- to medical students and residents, to practicing doctors and nurses, and to patients.

He hears what it’s like to be a doctor with a dying patient. Or a medical student grappling with fear. Or a nurse who comes to comfort a dying child on her day off. Or a patient who feels she’s not being heard.

Rich uses the stories he hears to create a space for dialog and reflection. The idea is to help doctors, nurses and medical students care for patients and for one another -- with more wisdom and patience and insight.

We invited Rich to bring his stories into the Sound Medicine studio.

For the first in this open-ended series, he speaks with Iraqi war veteran Michael Montgomery, who is using his story to help other wounded veterans.

Here’s part one of our new series, "Patient Listening."

Additional Resources:

• The Wounded Warrior Project.

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