Educational Projects And Programs

Tamkin Medical Education Symposium

The Role of Medical Humanities in Medical Education

Wednesday , February 7, 2001
8:30am - 4:30pm

Office of Medical Education
University of California, Irvine
College of Medicine

Featured Speakers

Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D.
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

Lester Friedman, Ph.D.
Northwestern University School of Medicine

Lawrence Schneiderman, M.D.
University of California San Diego

Conference Organizers

Johanna Shapiro, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Medical Humanities
Department of Family Medicine
UCI College of Medicine

Alberto Manetta, M.D.
Senior Associate Dean, Educational Affairs
UCI College of Medicine

Special thanks to Dean Alberto Manetta, M.D. for his support and vision and to the planning committee, Drs. Lloyd Rucker, Desiree Lie, and Elizabeth Morrison for their perceptive and creative suggestions.

As physicians struggle to meet increasing, and often conflicting, patient care and health systems demands, there is renewed interest among medical educators for pedagogical methods to help both experienced physicians and physicians-in-training maintain personal humanity and professional commitment. One important methodological approach to these challenges that is attracting increasing interest is the field of medical humanities, including the integration of literature and the arts into medical education activities.

This symposium will overview various uses of literature and the arts in medical education. In particular, the study of literature will be considered as a tool for teaching medical students and residents about caring for patients, increasing empathy, improving communication skills, and dealing with professional stress and frustration. Presentations will focus on specific textual approaches and expressive writing skills that can easily be adopted by both faculty and their students, as well as on specific ways of integrating humanities into existing teaching activities in the medical school curriculum. The symposium is appropriate for all faculty involved in health professions education, as well as for practicing physicians in the community.

Course Objectives:

Discuss how good literary reading and expressive writing skills can complement and enhance good doctoring skills, including self-awareness, empathy, communication, patient-centered care and ethical decision-making
Discuss how good literary reading and expressive writing skills can attenuate and transform feelings of professionally related stress and burn-out.
Summarize specific skills necessary in critical reading, specifically appreciation for point of view, close attention to language and tone, and awareness of the narrative context of illness.
List specific writing techniques useful in addressing difficult professional topics.
Review the merits of incorporating literature and expressive writing into student teaching and patient care.

Faculty Presenters

Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University

Lawrence Schneiderman, M.D.
Professor, Department of Family & Preventive Medicine
UC San Diego School of Medicine

Lester Friedman, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Program in Communication & Medicine
Department Of Radio/TV/Film
Northwestern University

Faculty Small Group Facilitators

Desiree Lie, M.D., M.S.Ed.
Associate Clinical Professor
Director, Patient-Doctor II course
Director, Division of International Faculty Development
Department of Family Medicine
UC Irvine, College of Medicine

Lloyd Rucker, M.D.
Clinical Professor
Associate Dean of Curriculum
Vice-Chair for Education
Department of Internal Medicine
UC Irvine College of Medicine

Elizabeth Morrison, M.D., M.S.Ed.
Assistant Clinical Professor
Director of Predoctoral Education
Department of Family Medicine
Director, Patient-Doctor I
UC Irvine, College of Medicine

Pamela Schaff, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor
Director. Introduction to Clinical Medicine
Departments of Pediatrics & Family Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

Johanna Shapiro. Ph.D.
Professor
Director of Medical Humanities
Department of Family Medicine
UC Irvine College of Medicine

All presenters have declared that they do not have a financial interest or other relationship with any manufacturer(s) of any commercial product or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentations.

Accreditation

The University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

The University of California, Irvine, College of medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 6.0 hours in category 1 credit towards the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.