Medical Humanities is the study of literature that applies to Medical education. It is somewhat a new subject taught at Lamar University but has been established at many other campuses across the nation such as Baylor, Drew, and New York University etc. This study provides many needs for medical students. Many medical schools have this course in their curriculum and are now surfacing in non-medical schools. The course is very informative on vital things dealing with not only the medical field, but life period.
In Medical Humanities, there are many problems that exist in the study. The most noticeable problem found is poor communication with colleagues and patients in which creates the conditions for medical error. Communication plays a huge factor in not just hospitals and medical schools, but it is involved in almost everything people set out to do, such as relationships, job-hunting etc. The key element in the medical field can help prevent someone from losing their life. Patients are placed at high-risk through poor communication. In an article written by Alan Bleakley and Robert Marshall, they state, “In North America, medical error has been noted as the third biggest killer after cancer and heart disease, with an estimated 225,000 deaths per year.” This is really a high number of deaths that is caused by something that many people do not see as crucial to medical error. Lives are at stake without great communication. Doctors cannot just shrug off their patient and not caring about how they feel and what they are going through. This problem is also a need because in order to deal with people and know what they are going through, communication has to take place and the course does so. The course of Medical Humanities can help not only future doctors, but anyone who needs to help on communicating because again, communication is vital to a lot of things in life.
Literature and creative writing is very beneficial to a student in the medical field. Humanities can play an important role in gaining or maintain empathy during medical training. Literature in the course can mold the student and help them learn more than without it. In the article, “Evaluating the Impact of the Humanities in Medical Education”, a survey was given by DasGupta and Charon found that among 16 medical students who participated in a reflective writing workshop, several reported increases in empathy on a 7-question survey administered after the course. The impact on the creative writing and literature shows that these two aspects are vital to students in the medical field on gaining or increasing empathy. Empathy is a very important term in Medical Humanities because in order to deal with patients, doctors to have empathy towards them. It helps the doctor relate and grow with the patient, and they will let out things out that they would not tell anyone else.
The perspective of a professor in the literary study and writing in medical education programs is to teach students more than just medicine. Professors look to help students grasp the true concept of medical education. It is not always about finding symptoms of patients then giving them a prescription for their illness and sends them on their way. It is way more than that as Durham University professor, Jane Macnaughton states. In the article, “Medical Humanities Challenge to Medicine”, she says, “The approach from the humanities has, tended to be piecemeal, critiquing particular issues within medicine and health care, such as specific ethical problems, evidence-based medicine, or ways of understanding patients’ case histories, without really addressing a core assumption that medical practice makes about the human such as understanding, diagnosing, and treating the patient, in which requires an atomistic view of how human beings work as physically embodied individuals and as persons within their social context.” Medical students go in to the medical programs not having much empathy and understanding for their future patient’s feelings and requirements. The perspective of a student going into the course is to learn things that they probably did not think was really important. The focus on learning how to take care of patients will help the student become a great doctor in the future. There are a lot of aspects that goes in to being a doctor that some never knew existed, and the medical education programs provide an excellent foundation for the student/future doctor.
Medical Humanities is very vital and informative to not just a medical student, but any student because it educates them how to gain empathy for patients/people in their life. It is a very important course that should be mandatory to enroll in to take no matter what the student’s major is because there is a ton of information to be learned from the course.
In Medical Humanities, there are many problems that exist in the study. The most noticeable problem found is poor communication with colleagues and patients in which creates the conditions for medical error. Communication plays a huge factor in not just hospitals and medical schools, but it is involved in almost everything people set out to do, such as relationships, job-hunting etc. The key element in the medical field can help prevent someone from losing their life. Patients are placed at high-risk through poor communication. In an article written by Alan Bleakley and Robert Marshall, they state, “In North America, medical error has been noted as the third biggest killer after cancer and heart disease, with an estimated 225,000 deaths per year.” This is really a high number of deaths that is caused by something that many people do not see as crucial to medical error. Lives are at stake without great communication. Doctors cannot just shrug off their patient and not caring about how they feel and what they are going through. This problem is also a need because in order to deal with people and know what they are going through, communication has to take place and the course does so. The course of Medical Humanities can help not only future doctors, but anyone who needs to help on communicating because again, communication is vital to a lot of things in life.
Literature and creative writing is very beneficial to a student in the medical field. Humanities can play an important role in gaining or maintain empathy during medical training. Literature in the course can mold the student and help them learn more than without it. In the article, “Evaluating the Impact of the Humanities in Medical Education”, a survey was given by DasGupta and Charon found that among 16 medical students who participated in a reflective writing workshop, several reported increases in empathy on a 7-question survey administered after the course. The impact on the creative writing and literature shows that these two aspects are vital to students in the medical field on gaining or increasing empathy. Empathy is a very important term in Medical Humanities because in order to deal with patients, doctors to have empathy towards them. It helps the doctor relate and grow with the patient, and they will let out things out that they would not tell anyone else.
The perspective of a professor in the literary study and writing in medical education programs is to teach students more than just medicine. Professors look to help students grasp the true concept of medical education. It is not always about finding symptoms of patients then giving them a prescription for their illness and sends them on their way. It is way more than that as Durham University professor, Jane Macnaughton states. In the article, “Medical Humanities Challenge to Medicine”, she says, “The approach from the humanities has, tended to be piecemeal, critiquing particular issues within medicine and health care, such as specific ethical problems, evidence-based medicine, or ways of understanding patients’ case histories, without really addressing a core assumption that medical practice makes about the human such as understanding, diagnosing, and treating the patient, in which requires an atomistic view of how human beings work as physically embodied individuals and as persons within their social context.” Medical students go in to the medical programs not having much empathy and understanding for their future patient’s feelings and requirements. The perspective of a student going into the course is to learn things that they probably did not think was really important. The focus on learning how to take care of patients will help the student become a great doctor in the future. There are a lot of aspects that goes in to being a doctor that some never knew existed, and the medical education programs provide an excellent foundation for the student/future doctor.
Medical Humanities is very vital and informative to not just a medical student, but any student because it educates them how to gain empathy for patients/people in their life. It is a very important course that should be mandatory to enroll in to take no matter what the student’s major is because there is a ton of information to be learned from the course.