Medical Humanities Research Articles

A History of Teaching Medical History in Medical Schools in Europe and America.

Medical history was an important part of medicine in the West from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, and until the Renaissance. Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna were historical figures, but they dominated the medicine of the Western world at least until Renaissance. The medicine of the past, which did not become history, still remained an important part of present medicine. In the 19th century, medicine in the past is now relativized as an object of history. At the same time, the 'practicality' of medical science was emphasized. The practicality referred to here means that, unlike previous times, medicine in the past has been historicalized, but it can provide practical help to current medicine. In particular, in the era of positivism that dominated the late 19th century, this practicality was a core value of medical history. In the 20th century, the era of scientific medicine, the new role is given to medical history. It was to give a integrated view on contemporary medicine which was subdivided into many specialized fields. Along with this, medical history, once a main part of medicine, moves to the field of history. At the same time, the rise of medical humanities in medical education becomes an opportunity to redefine the role of medical history. Seeking productive cooperation with other humanities and social sciences that deal with medical issues, such as medical anthropology, medical sociology, and literature, will be a new task given to medical history today.

Narrative Medicine under the Guidance of Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory

This paper is an exploration into the practice of narrative medicine in the clinical setting guided by the theory and approaches of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). By adopting the theory of TCM, the author attempted to provide the patients with systematic treatment from the perspective of society-psychology-biology under the guidance of both the unity of heaven and man, and the unity of Xing (形Body) and Shen (神Mind/Spirit) through his clinical practice. Guided by Yin Yang（阴阳） and Wu Xing (五行Five Elements) theory and focusing on the social relations of the patients for any possible relationships between patients’ social, psychological and biological state, the author took the patients’ emotion management as a point of departure and helped the patients recover both physically and psychologically by promoting positive transformation in patients’ social, psychological and biological state. A clinical case was provided at the end of this paper to demonstrate how the above theory was put into practice. Narrative medicine under the guidance of TCM theory can supplement modern medical humanity practices as well as extend the scope of modern medical treatment from the perspective of the unity of heaven and man, by enriching the content of narrative medicine and promoting the medical model from biological medical model toward social-psychological-biological model.

Evaluation of learning outcomes of humanities curricula in medical students. A meta-review of narrative and systematic reviews.

To assess the expected learning outcomes of medical humanities subjects in medical studies curricula. To connect those expected learning outcomes with the types of knowledge to be acquired in medical education. Meta-review of systematic and narrative reviews. Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (Pubmed), Embase, CINAHL, and ERIC were searched. In addition, references from all the included studies were revised, and the ISI Web of Science and DARE were searched. A total of 364 articles were identified, of which six were finally included in the review. Learning outcomes describe the acquisition of knowledge and skills to improve the relationship with patients, as well as the incorporation of tools to reduce burnout and promote professionalism. Programs that focus on teaching humanities promote diagnostic observation skills, the ability to cope with uncertainty in clinical practice, and the development of empathetic behaviors. The results of this review show heterogeneity in the teaching of medical humanities, both in terms of content and at the formal level. Humanities learning outcomes are part of the necessary knowledge for good clinical practice. Consequently, the epistemological approach provides a valid argument for including the humanities in medical curricula.

A comparative study of the coverage of African journals in Web of Science, Scopus, and CrossRef

AbstractThis is the first study that evaluated the coverage of journals from Africa in Web of Science, Scopus, and CrossRef. A list of active journals published in each of the 55 African countries was compiled from Ulrich's periodicals directory and African Journals Online (AJOL) website. Journal master lists for Web of Science, Scopus, and CrossRef were searched for the African journals. A total of 2,229 unique active African journals were identified from Ulrich (N = 2,117, 95.0%) and AJOL (N = 243, 10.9%) after removing duplicates. The volume of African journals in Web of Science and Scopus databases is 7.4% (N = 166) and 7.8% (N = 174), respectively, compared to the 45.6% (N = 1,017) covered in CrossRef. While making up only 17.% of all the African journals, South African journals had the best coverage in the two most authoritative databases, accounting for 73.5% and 62.1% of all the African journals in Web of Science and Scopus, respectively. In contrast, Nigeria published 44.5% of all the African journals. The distribution of the African journals is biased in favor of Medical, Life and Health Sciences and Humanities and the Arts in the three databases. The low representation of African journals in CrossRef, a free indexing infrastructure that could be harnessed for building an African‐centric research indexing database, is concerning.

Care Narratives by Annie Ernaux and Michael Rosen in the Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted both the importance of care and a global crisis in care. Since its beginnings in the US in the 1980s as a feminist theory within virtue ethics, care ethics has emerged from the margins of the domestic sphere in the West to become a species theory and a force for radical societal change. Influenced by Joan Tronto’s work, Alexandre Gefen has integrated the approach into literary studies in France as an interventionist reading strategy, offering therapeutic benefits to the reader as well. In a new intersectional approach, I argue that reading literature through a care ethics model can improve lives. I compare literary testimonies on either side of the patient/carer divide, Annie Ernaux’s pre-Covid-19 care home narrative and Michael Rosen’s Covid-19 patient testimony, which, read together, expand the field of medical humanities to promote a relational reconception of society over individualist neoliberalism.

Study of nonsynchronous online teaching of regional anatomy for international students integrated with medical humanities and local culture during COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed unexpected disruptions to anatomical educational practice, the teaching of regional anatomy for international students which has changed to an online format and faces various challenges. The challenges include creating online education homogeneous/equivalent to offline education, introducing local culture to international students, and educating students in medical humanities and ethics. To address these problems, the teaching staff integrated medical humanities and local culture into nonsynchronous online teaching of regional anatomy. The nonsynchronous online teaching with interpreted videos of dissections does not significantly affect the experimental and total scores of regional anatomy courses for international students. Integrating medical humanities and local culture into this teaching model is appreciated by them and also has a good teaching effect. Students not only gained professional knowledge but also obtained enhanced exposure to local culture and professional spirit from this regional anatomy education.

Recognizing and Maximizing the Nexus of Perioperative Medicine and Narrative Medicine.

Perioperative medicine remains an evolving, interdisciplinary subspecialty, which encompasses the unique perspectives and incorporates the respective vital expertise of numerous stakeholders. This integrated model of perioperative medicine and care has a wide-ranging set of clinical, strategic, and operational goals. Among these various programmatic goals, a subset of 4, specific, interdependent goals include (1) enhancing patient-centered care, (2) embracing shared decision-making, (3) optimizing health literacy, and (4) avoiding futile surgery. Achieving and sustaining this subset of 4 goals requires continued innovative approaches to perioperative care. The burgeoning field of narrative medicine represents 1 such innovative approach to perioperative care. Narrative medicine is considered the most prominent recent development in the medical humanities. Its central tenet is that attention to narrative-in the form of the patient's story, the clinician's story, or a story constructed together by the patient and clinician-is essential for optimal patient care. If we can view the health care experience through the patient's eyes, we will become more responsive to patients' needs and, thereby, better clinicians. There is a potential clinical nexus between the perioperative medicine practice and narrative medicine skills, which, if capitalized, can maximize perioperative patient care. There are a number of untapped educational and research opportunities in this fruitful nexus between perioperative medicine and narrative medicine.

'Food for thought' in devising aging-simulation experience.

Aging simulation (experiencing age-related functional decline), an educational tool commonly used in geriatrics education, is widely recognised for being able to drive positive attitudinal change toward older patient care. However, scholars1 warned that, given its focus on age-related limitations and disabilities, the method may lead junior medical students to take age-related barriers as impending and irrevocable, thereby reinforcing myths and negative assumptions on ‘growing old’. Prior research reported that, in aging simulation, interest in geriatric care (driven by empathy) might be achieved at the expense of worsening self-views on personal aging. To mitigate this unintended-side effect, a recommendation made was to integrate learning strategies of ‘demystifying myths’ and ‘experiencing aging’. Dysphagia is a health condition common in old age and often associated with malnutrition, pneumonia and dehydration. It can also be part of normal aging, given how the aetiologies also grow with age. Internationally, prevalence of dysphagia in aged care facilities has been estimated to be up to 40%. Yet, awareness and recognition of its impacts on one's lived experience are lacking among medical officers. While other age-related physiological changes such as walking difficulties, visual and hearing impairments are often covered in traditional aging simulation, dysphagia remains an unaddressed topic. In collaboration with a Hong Kong-based social enterpirse “The Project Futurus”, we piloted a 2.5-hour aging simulation workshop centred around dysphagia in old age. At a teaching kitchen, second-year MBBS students could personally relate to the mealtime experience of dysphagic older persons. The activity was part of a Medical Humanities Curriculum at HKU. Quota was capped at 20 owing to COVID restrictions. Instead of a focus on age-related difficulties and feelings of frustrations that usually characterize traditional aging simulation, our workshop, titled ‘Dignified meal and sparks for life’, exposes students to the realities of aging while shedding a positive light on wellbeing in old age: Before class, students were invited to experience food similar to porridge being served to dysphagic patients in the past. In class, students received (i) a mini-lecture demystifying dysphagia diet, and (ii) a live demonstration on using Japanese Engay (easy-to-swallow) cooking techniques to create more uplifting dysphagia diet with aesthetic appeal and texture. Then, students (iii) worked in groups to prepare and mould texture-modified meals, followed by (iv) tasting and debriefing on how the lived experience of dysphagic older persons could be transformed through person-centred care. We administered the validated UCLA Geriatrics Attitudes Scale (UCLA-GAS) to assess student attitudes toward older patient care, and Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire (RAQ) to assess attitudes toward personal aging. All participants (n = 20) completed pre- and post-questionnaires. Mean age was 19.5. Contrary to an earlier study,1 our workshop had improved attitudes toward geriatric patient care (p = 0.02) and personal aging (p = 0.042) in second-year undergraduate medical students. Cohen's d was 0.492 and 0.406, respectively, indicating moderate effect size in both measures. Despite a small sample, we have developed a new form of aging simulation pertaining to the human experience of dysphagia in old age. By integrating elements of ‘demystifying myths’ and re-orienting the activity's focal point from age-related difficulties to enablers of wellbeing, our pilot throws light on how aging simulation's unintended negative side-effect could be avoided.

A penny for your thoughts: promoting compassionate medical practice through reflection

ABSTRACT The fundamental importance of compassion in promoting high quality patient care is well recognised, but teaching compassion is no easy task for the medical educator. In this thought piece I will explore the journey I have taken with year 2 medical students, exploring how to make compassion matter to my learners, and how to translate reflection into compassionate practice. I will look at the role of medical humanities, and reflective writing in particular, in promoting compassion and empathy, and achieving a deeper understanding of what it means to practise in a truly patient-centred way. I will reflect on my own approach to teaching compassion and encouraging reflection, through role modelling, storytelling and involving patients as educators, and the successes and shortcomings that I have encountered in my teaching. I will then consider the next steps I plan to take as an educator in order to support my learners to become compassionate, reflective practitioners.

Episode 88: Inside the Monitor – Medical Humanities and the Arts

Central Line Podcast Series| March 2023 Episode 88: Inside the Monitor – Medical Humanities and the Arts Audrey Shafer, MD; Audrey Shafer, MD Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Adam Striker, MD, FASA Adam Striker, MD, FASA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar ASA Monitor March 2023, Vol. 87, 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000922680.43552.0b Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Audrey Shafer, Adam Striker; Episode 88: Inside the Monitor – Medical Humanities and the Arts. ASA Monitor 2023; 87:1 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000922680.43552.0b Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search Topics: arts, humanities Dr. Adam Striker discusses the discipline of medical humanities and the many ways humanities and anesthesiology intersect and interact with Dr. Audrey Shafer, guest editor of the March ASA Monitor. What can history and art tell us about our specialty and our patients? How can storytelling and poetry enhance our patient communication? What role do the humanities play in reminding us of the humanity of our patients, our fellow health care workers, and ourselves. This and more in this nuanced and rewarding episode. Recorded February 2023. You do not currently have access to this content.

Medical Storyworlds: Health, Illness, and Bodies in Russian and European Literature at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Medical Storyworlds: Health, Illness, and Bodies in Russian and European Literature at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

DEI and the Medical Humanities: Necessary Medicine for Health Care's Challenges

DEI and the Medical Humanities: Necessary Medicine for Health Care's Challenges

The Work of Illness in the Aftermath of a ‘Surpassing Disaster’: Medical Humanities in the Middle East and North Africa

The Work of Illness in the Aftermath of a ‘Surpassing Disaster’: Medical Humanities in the Middle East and North Africa

Medicine and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa: Transdisciplinary Approaches in Medical Humanities

Medicine and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa: Transdisciplinary Approaches in Medical Humanities

Medical Humanities and Anesthesiology

Medical Humanities and Anesthesiology

The Hippocratic Oath, Illness, and Metaphors of Politics in Margaret Ogola’s I Swear by Apollo

This essay relates Margaret Atieno Ogola's I Swear by Apollo (2002) to Kenya's postcolonial context to signal the contribution of literary texts to the understanding of Kenya's sociopolitical and economic orientations. Particularly instructive are theoretical inspirations and epistemological insights from studies that locate literature on illness in medical humanities and narrative medicine, demonstrating the extent to which Ogola deploys illness and the Hippocratic Oath as emblems of sociopolitical convulsion. By focusing on how digressions act as bricks, not only for political-medical dialogue to help recontextualize medicine in literature, but also in converting medical signs into poetical elements, the article diagrams a reparative trajectory that can be taken in a politically apocalyptic scenario.

Why an Anesthesiology Department Supports the Arts and Humanities

Features| March 2023 Why an Anesthesiology Department Supports the Arts and Humanities Ronald G. Pearl, MD, PhD, FASA Ronald G. Pearl, MD, PhD, FASA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar ASA Monitor March 2023, Vol. 87, 15–17. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000921956.28877.f7 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Ronald G. Pearl; Why an Anesthesiology Department Supports the Arts and Humanities. ASA Monitor 2023; 87:15–17 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000921956.28877.f7 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search Topics: arts, humanities “Why should an anesthesiology department support the medical arts and humanities?” During my 22 years as chair of the Stanford Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, I was never asked this question, since the value of supporting these activities was obvious to the entire department. In this article, I will discuss some of the activities that our department has supported and then the benefits of incorporating the arts and humanities into an anesthesiology department. For the past three decades, Dr. Audrey Shafer has been the driving force in developing an internationally recognized program at the intersection of the arts, humanities, and medicine, not only in our department but also throughout the medical school and Stanford University. After finishing anesthesia residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Shafer joined our department with the goal of an academic career in clinical care, education, and research. Although successful in clinical pharmacology research,... You do not currently have access to this content.

The two-step cluster analysis of pre-COVID-19 experience and cybersecurity concerns about online education for academic staff in Saudi universities

The purpose of this research is to learn about the attitudes of the academic staff of the medical, business, humanities, and science and engineering disciplines concerning online education during the COVID-19 pandemic at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia. While research in online education focuses on learning experiences such as facilities, learning materials, and learning interests, several elements of online education in this research were investigated, including advantages, features, and cybersecurity. The research data were gathered through a survey containing three demographic items, four items on perceptions of online education, and seven questions on perceptions of cybersecurity. Responses obtained from 238 academic staff were used for statistical analysis. After the routine descriptive analysis analyses, the response data were subjected to unsupervised k-means centroid cluster analysis. Two clusters of academic staff differing in teaching disciplines, and pre-COVID experience in online education were identified. Cluster 1 had medical and business and humanities academic staff, predominated by those without pre-COVID experience in online education, and perceived online education and cybersecurity at neutral to a slightly low level. Cluster 2 consisted of science and engineering discipline academic staff predominated by those with pre-COVID online education experience and perceived online education and cybersecurity in the range of neutral to slightly high levels. The result of this study shows that academic staff in the medical, business, and humanities disciplines have less expertise with online education software and a low level of awareness about online education security. On the other hand, academic staff of science and engineering disciplines fields has more expertise with online educational technologies and a better level of understanding of online education security.

Literary Bioethics: Animality, Disability, and the Human by Maren Tova Linett

<i>Literary Bioethics: Animality, Disability, and the Human</i> by Maren Tova Linett

Narrative medicine in surgery: necessity or hindrance?

Narrative medicine in surgery: necessity or hindrance?