Teaching history of medicine to medical students at a medical museum

Abstract

This presentation reflects on authors’ experience of running the history workshop as part of medical education for half a decade (2015-20). Since 2012, history of medicine has become integral to undergraduate medical education at The University of Hong Kong. As part of a core medical humanities programme, medical students would participate in the workshop entitled “Museum of Medical Sciences: Walking the Path of the Plague” in their first year of study. Co-developed by a medical historian, a pathologist and in partnership with the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences (HKMMS), the 3-hour long workshop takes place at a medical museum. In short, the unique choice of teaching venue has greatly improved the workshop’s overall efficacy. Over the years, students appreciated the story-telling approach in leaning about historical events, with the help of physical exhibits, artifacts and rich sensory aids. By turning a history lecture into experiential workshop at history sites, history of medicine can be conveyed in a more engaging, intellectually stimulating, and contextualized way.