Medical Humanities, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

The goal of this course is to foster students’ development into humanistic physicians through engagement in community activities, reflective opportunities and the humanities such as narrative medicine, art, theatre and music. Course objectives and methods include: 1) improving observation and communication skills and tolerance for ambiguity through the close examination and discussion of literature and visual art, 2) developing greater compassion and empathy by working with various populations in nonclinical settings allowing people to be seen as more than just their illness or disease, 3) enhancing history taking skills by listening to and documenting a community member’s “story”, 4) increasing self-awareness about one’s emotions, assumptions, thought process and behavior patterns through reflective writing exercises and small group discussions and 5) developing a greater appreciation for the perspectives of others and for one’s biases through various creative emotions, assumptions, thought process and behavior patterns through reflective writing exercises and small group discussions and 5) developing a greater appreciation for the perspectives of others and for one’s biases through various creative experiences. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.