Patient Based Learning: an argument for humanities in medical education

Debate about the inclusion of medical humanities as a pillar of medical education in the undergraduate and postgraduate phase has been robust—not simply in the UK, but internationally (Perry et al ., 2011, Willson, 2006, Gordon, 2005). The main argument supporting its inclusion is that that the study of medical humanities has positive effects on attitudes and behaviours of doctors in training (Perry et al ., 2011, Baum, 2002). The evidence supporting this assertion, however, is not completely clear (Ousager and Johannessen, 2010). This paper argues that whilst it is hard to measure these effects in an outcomes based curriculum, the study of the humanities is invaluable in developing holistic and considerate doctors. As a medical student, my experience is that the social aspect of care is a postscript to the more highly privileged scientific knowledge. The social effects of the cases we study tend to appear as token learning objectives; we learn to appreciate that the social aspects of care exist but opportunities to explore these dimensions of care in a way that is meaningful or helpful are few. The study of humanities may be the bridge that helps medical students truly understand what health and illness means to their patients and give them the necessary skills to become caring and compassionate doctors (Blease, 2016). Arts, theatre and literature can widen the students’ understanding of the human experience, and give them a safe space to reflect on that learning. This paper explores the student perspective on the absence of medical humanities in medical school and suggests ways in which the area can be explored further outside the undergraduate curriculum. Key Words: Student perspective, undergraduate, humanities References: Baum, M. 2002. Teaching the humanities to medical students. Clin Med (Lond), 2 , 246-9. Blease, C. 2016. In defence of utility: the medical humanities and medical education. Medical Humanities [Online]. Available: http://mh.bmj.com/content/early/2016/02/03/medhum-2015-010827?papetoc [Accessed 2016-02-03]. Gordon, J. 2005. Medical humanities: to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always. Med J Aust, 182 , 5-8. Ousager, J. & Johannessen, H. 2010. Humanities in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Literature... : Academic Medicine. Academic Medicine, 85 , 988-998. Perry, M., Maffulli N., Willson, S. & Morrissey, D. 2011. The effectiveness of arts-based interventions in medical education: a literature review. Medical Education, 45 , 141-8. Willson, S. 2006. What can the arts bring to medical training? The Lancet, 368 , S15-S16.