Abstract
PurposeWe aimed to study the impact of a combined faculty-student book club on education and medical practice as a part of the informal curriculum at the University of Florida College of Medicine in the United States.MethodsSixteen medical students and 7 faculties who participated in the book club were interviewed through phone and recorded. The interview was then transcribed and entered into the qualitative data analysis program QSR NVivo (QSR International, Burlington, MA, USA). The transcripts were reviewed, and thematic codes were developed inductively through collaborative iteration. Based on these preliminary codes, a coding dictionary was developed and applied to all interviews within QSR Nvivo to identify themes.ResultsFour main themes were identified from interviews: The first theme, the importance of literature to the development and maintenance of empathy and perspective-taking, and the second theme, the importance of the book club in promoting mentorship, personal relationships and professional development, were important to both student and faculty participants. The third and fourth themes, the need for the book club as a tool for self-care and the book club serving as a reminder about the world outside of school were discussed by student book club members.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that an informal book club has a significant positive impact on self-care, perspective-taking, empathy, and developing a “world outside of school” for medical school students and faculty in the United States. It also helps to foster meaningful relationships between students and faculty.
Highlights
While medical education is generally focused on the acquisition of biomedical knowledge, health professions educators have long recognized the utility of the humanities for reorienting traineesWith this in mind, a number of institutions have implemented areas of formal curricula, such as narrative medicine electives, which include the guided reading of fictional or non-fictional literary texts, often centered on medical topics
“I think reading in general provides empathy in terms of learning about others and I think that when you get to share that with others, especially in our clinical field and to share stories of our experiences, it’s hard to not think that that’s impactful and the care that we provide for our patients and for each other.” (By current medical student)
I do find that sometimes it reverts back to medicine.” < F06 >. Key results and their significance Our study showed that an extracurricular book club involving faculty and students help develop perspective taking skills and build empathy, dismantle hierarchy while promoting relationship building between faculty and students, help participants focus on self-care and wellbeing, and prevent living strictly within the silo of the profession of medicine
Summary
Background While medical education is generally focused on the acquisition of biomedical knowledge, health professions educators have long recognized the utility of the humanities for reorienting trainees. With this in mind, a number of institutions have implemented areas of formal curricula, such as narrative medicine electives, which include the guided reading of fictional or non-fictional literary texts, often centered on medical topics. One alternative model for the inclusion of literature in the health profession’s curricula is the use of the “book club” format, in which a book is pre-selected, read by all students, and discussed in small groups. The book club model permits small group discussions about non-medical topics, which facilitates students sharing their personal experiences with colleagues [7]. The more informal nature of these discussions can empower students, who develop communication skills by taking the lead in discussions [8]
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