The Program for Humanities in Medicine

The Program for Humanities in Medicine at Yale School of Medicine offers a lively, meaningful, and provocative approach to the art and practice of medicine.

The medical humanities – which includes art, music, literature, drama, writing, philosophy, history, and more – can enrich our lives in medicine, increase our ability to observe, help us understand perspectives other than our own, shed light on community concerns, expose our assumptions, and provide a means for grappling with the inherent uncertainty in medicine.

But they can – and should – do more than that. Here at Yale, we strive to use the medical humanities as a springboard to raise the critical consciousness of our community. Through a wide variety of opportunities, both curricular and extracurricular, we strive to stimulate thought and discussion about the narratives we tell about our patients, ourselves, and the systems we work in; the traditions we have inherited; the role we play in questions of justice; and what futures we imagine for ourselves as a profession.

We collaborate on many programs with faculty and students from Yale’s other schools and institutions including the School of Nursing, School of Art, British Art Center, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale New Haven Hospital, and Yale College.