Just a spoonful of humanities makes the medicine go down: introducing literature into a family medicine clerkship

Abstract

BACKGROUND This project introduced medicinerelated poetry and prose to a Year 3 family medicine clerkship with the purpose of determining students' perception of the usefulness of such materials to enhance empathy, improve patient management, and reduce stress. Although humanities are represented in the curricula of many medical schools, we need more information on how best to incorporate them during the clinical years.METHOD In 2000, we used a needs assessment survey to identify learner perceptions of medical humanities. Using this information, in 2001-03 we developed and implemented a humanities-based curriculum consisting of readings linked to clinical vignettes, comments about humanities reading in required clinical Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP) notes, and either station-specific or general poetry accompanying student end-of-clerkship objective structured clinical examinations. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data assessing student reactions and examined the data using non-parametric statistics and content analysis, respectively.RESULTS Students showed moderate interest in incorporating humanities in medical education as a way of enhancing empathy, improving understanding and reducing frustration. Assessment of the clerkship humanities curriculum suggested a positive influence on students in terms of empathy for the patient's perspective, and a lesser, but still positive, impact on patient management. DISCUSSION Responses from this group of learners suggest that there is receptivity toward introducing medical humanities into family medicine curricular venues and that such effort can have a generally positive effect on learner empathy, awareness and understanding toward patients and doctors.

Empathy In Chinese Pharmacy Undergraduates: Implication for Integrating Humanities Into Professional Pharmacy Education

“…34 A humanities-based curriculum consisting of readings linked to clinical vignettes, comments about humanities reading in required clinical Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP) notes, and either station-specific or general poetry accompanying student end-of-clerkship objective structured clinical examinations was implemented in the teaching of family medicine curricular venues. 35 Learning from these experiences, we provide some implementation model of humanistic education for Chinese pharmacy undergraduates to find out suitable model for future humanistic education aiming at enhancement of empathy. The results showed that Chinese pharmacy undergraduates may have an affinity for implementing humanistic education in a vivid and free way, such as interesting social and extracurricular activity.…”

Integrating humanities curricula in medical education: a needs assessment

“…Only ten articles included any formal method of evaluation or assessment of impact beyond learner satisfaction. Of those ten articles, five used qualitative techniques to evaluate learners (Thompson 2015, Ramani 2013, Gulpinar 2009, Wachtler 2006, Bonebakker 2003, three used quantitative measures (Rodriguez 2013, Wiecha 2008, Wiecha 2002, and two used a combination (Shapiro 2004, Shapiro 2005. Quantitative measures were typically Likert scales or validated empathy scales (Empathy Construct Rating Scale and the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (Shapiro 2004).…”

A course, ‘The Human in Medicine’, as an example of a preclinical medical humanities program: A summary of 7 years

“…A few studies pointing to efficacy, indicate that medical humanities programs are beneficial for strengthening the students' empathy, deepening their understanding, enabling them to manage conflict, helping them to express themselves more efficiently, endowing them with a social and humanistic perspective, making them grasp life experiences related to medical practice and develop a new line of insight (Shapiro & Hunt 2003;Shapiro et al 2005;Lee & Ahn 2004). These programs also function as a tool to open discussions about 'biological determinism', 'technicalism' and 'proceduralism'.…”

“…The few articles on the subject conclude that these programs have positive effects on the students' patient management skills by enhancing empathy, improving understanding and reducing frustration. (Shapiro & Hunt 2003;Shapiro et al 2005). The aim of this article is to evaluate the HIM program of our faculty with regard to its efficacy and on the basis of the impressions of the students.…”