Medical educators rush in where biomedical teachers fear to tread - developing a medical humanities core curriculum

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Medical humanities is increasingly being included as part of the medical curriculum with the aim of producing doctors who are not only biomedically qualifed but also humanistic and caring. Two key issues are how to make medical humanities pedagogically sound as well to ensure its sustainability given the competition for curriculum time and teaching workload of the faculty. SUMMARY OF WORK: With 4 years of planning involving various stakeholders, visits to medical schools overseas where medical humanities are being taught, and advice from experts, we piloted several modules in medical humanities. Based on the success of these modules, a Medical Humanities Planning Group was formed to formally develop a medical humanities core curriculum which will extend throughout 6 years starting in September 2012 with a first year intake of 210 medical students. SUMMARY OF RESULTS: The curriculum was planned using an outcome approach to student learning model with alignment of teaching and learning activities and assessment. In year 1, teaching and learning activities took the form of lectures, workshops, discussions and museum visit and exploring five themes – narrative medicine, culture, spirituality and healing, history of medicine, death, dying and bereavement, and humanitarism - and presented through reading and writing, performance, visual arts and film. Assessment was based on participation in workshops (spoken and written), online postings and creative output. We were very encouraged with the very positive response from students. An unique feature is the participation of teachers from diverse disciplines in the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: We have succeeded in delivering a medical humanities core curriculum for year 1 medical students with a positive response. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: A medical humanities curriculum has meaning if it is a core curriculum and is assessed, and can be sustainable with careful planning from various stakeholders, and with teaching support from the wider faculty community.