7/22/2019 Teaching the Humanities in Medical Education

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Introduction:A large proportion of the Academic Fellows time

constitutes teaching within Cardiff University’s

Undergraduate Medical Curriculum. Although the

core of this teaching consists of communication skills

and clinical skills, some academic fellows have elected

to create or become involved in other teaching

programs. A number of these have been within the

medical humanities which are outlined here.

The medical humanities is described as “is an

interdisciplinary field of medicine which includes the

humanities.., social science.. and the arts.. and their

application to medical education and practice”1. Some

medical humanities such as psychology, philosophical

ethics and sociology are already established within

the medical curriculum, whereas others such as

cinema, history and literature remain on the fr inges

2

.In recent years, the academic fellowship scheme has

increased the emphasis on offering opportunities to

study the humanities as applied to medicine. This has

included:

• Optional ethics seminars

• “Top 10 Film’s for medical students” film club 

• Literature and medicine special study module

• Drama and public health special study module

• History of medicine special study module

• “Heroes and villains” case studies on

professionalism

This poster showcases some of the main teaching

modules in medical humanities.

Guest experts included:

• Academics from Cardiff University and Kings

College London

• Historians from Museums Wales, Wales

History of Medicine Society, and the

Whitchurch Hospital Historical Society

• Professional actors from Going Public Theatre

Company schools-based Personal, Social and

Health Education charity (PHSE)

History ofMedicine

ear: 3

odule: Student Selected

omponent

uration: 9 weeks (full time)

Each week devoted to the

study of the history of a

different medical specialty

Classroom learning includes

lectures by world experts and

student presentations

Field visits include St Fagans

open air museum,

Whitchurch hospital and

Llandaff and Grangetown highstreets

Art (film, literature, visual art)

used to illustrate history of

speciality and attitudes / bias

of artists

rama and Public

Healthar: 2

odule: Student Selected

mponent

ration: 5 days

Introductory talks introduce

the influences on children’s

health and the role of publc

health.

Workshops with professional

actors from Going Public

Theatre Company show

health messages through

drama and assist students in

developing ideas

Visit to the school enables

students to contextualize

their theme within the

curriculum, setting and

community

Students develop a whole

school assembly and drama

workshops for year 3,4 and 5

students

year 3 (9 week full-time) SSC

s piloted last year and will be

ered this summer.

Ethics SeminarsYear: 1

Module: Professionalism

Duration: Single seminar

• Individual tutors lead a

session taking students

through an ethical dilemma

• The dilemma is discussed in

small groups and further

information sought

• Key ethical principles such as

Autonomy, Justice,

Beneficence and Non-

maleficence are highlighted

• Group discussion and debate

help explore the pros andcons of different courses of

action

References

Heroes and

VillainsYear: 1

Module: Professionalism

Duration: Single seminar

• Students research examples

of good and bad professional

behaviour

• Heroes: from BMJ obituaries

• Villains: from GMC fitness to

practice reports

• Students consider whatprofessional values (or

mistakes) led to the outcome

Teaching the Humanities in Medicine A overview of current teaching programmes with the

 Academic Fellowship Scheme

Dr Harry Ahmed, Dr Madeleine Attridge, Dr Simon Braybrook, Dr Freya Davies, Dr Katie Savage

Academic Fellowship Scheme, Cochrane Institute for Primary Care and Public Health, Cardiff University

Methods:

Mixed methods were used for the development of

each course component. Some (year one ethics and

professionalism sessions) have been taught as part of

the core curriculum and so are compulsory for all

students. Others (Drama and public health, History of

Medicine) have been offered as student selected

components and so are undertaken by interested

students selecting the module from a menu.

In each module we have had the opportunity to

explore our own interests and expertise. For example,

in the history of medicine module, each fellow led a

week following a different specialty. Talks were

delivered by fellows themselves or by selected

external speakers including experts in their field. In

the “optional ethics seminars” fellows createddifferent ethical discussions for the students to

discuss ranging from management of a disease

outbreak, evidence based drug policy or the ethics of

screening.

A mixture of talks, film clips, student exercises and

discussion, field trips were used to maintain interest

and connect with the deeper themes of the module.

Field visits:

Use of artistic media:

The use of film, art and literature is a key

feature of teaching the humanities. Theprograms used such materials as the poetry of

Siegfried Sassoon to explore the impact of shell

shock and PTSD, and paintings such as “The

Rake’s Progress” by Hogarth to explore

perceptions of the mentally ill throughout the

enlightenment. A variety of films were used to

explore not only the medical scene depicted

but the attitudes and biases of the film-maker

in the context of their time. These included:

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (film of

Ken Keseys book)

• The Madness of King George (Alan Bennett

play and film)

• The Seduction (film adaptation of a poem

by Eileen McCauley)

Results and Feedback:Assessment methods varied for the different

modules. The majority required satisfactory

participation only whereas the 9 week SSCs

required submission of a 1500 word essay and

verbal presentation of their findings.

Feedback forms were returned by all students

which consistently show positive regard for the

modules and provide suggestion for

improvement. Involvement of external

speakers, field visits and opportunities to

develop presentation skills are always highly

valued.

In addition to the work done in the modules,

the students participating have the opportunity

to present their work outside the University.

Within the Drama and Public Health modules

presentation of their work to local primary

schools is a key outcome, whereas for History of

Medicine the best presentations are selected

for delivery and the annual Wales History of

Medicine Society meeting.

History of Medicine

Students on Visit to

Whithurch Hospital

Students perform to local primary schoolchildren

Approach to an ethical dilemma3 

1. Aull, Felice. "Medical Humanities". Medical

Humanities Community . New York University

School of Medicine. Retrieved 25 May 2011.

2. Grant, V. J. "Making room for medical

humanities." Medical humanities 28.1

(2002): 45-48.

3. BMA “Ethics Toolkit for medical students”

http://bma.org.uk/practical-support-at-

work/ethics/medical-students-ethics-tool-kit

Dr Andrew

Wakefield

Dr Helen

LesterDuring the history of medicine module, students

learned about the history of surgical techniques at

St Fagans open air museum, learned about the

asylum era at Whitchurch Hospital, and the history

of Public health in Llandaff and Grangetown high

streets. Support from RCT LHB has permitted the

drama programme to reach deprived areas of the

valleys.

Guest Experts: