Troubled by patients being viewed as victims of their diseases, Dr Lucie Wilk explores the scientific evidence for the importance of a paradigm shift: away from victimisation and toward empowerment. After all, by ignoring the effect of the mind on our bodies, we are missing an important ingredient in successful healthcare.

Dr Lucie Wilk is a medical doctor and a novelist, currently writing her second novel. She obtained both her specialist medical training and her MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. She has practised and taught as faculty in the UBC Department of Internal Medicine. In 2010, she moved with her young family to the UK, where she has worked as a consultant in several NHS Hospital Trusts.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx