The medical humanities—which includes the humanities, social sciences, and visual and performing arts—is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding medicine and health. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the medical humanities field is difficult to define. In a new paper published in Medical Teacher, researchers analyzed the mission statements of 56 medical humanities programs in the U.S. and Canada.
The authors identified five major themes. A majority of mission statements emphasized improving patient care and provider wellness. Additionally, medical humanities programs strive for increased research and scholarship, community connections, and social justice/activism. The team also compared mission statements of primary care and research institutions and considered program directors’ educational backgrounds.
Learn more about their findings in “Variation in medical humanities program mission statements in United States and Canadian Medical Schools.”
Adams ZM, Mekbib K, Encandela J, Reisman A. Variation in medical humanities program mission statements in United States and Canadian Medical Schools. Med Teach. 2022 Nov 30:1-8. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2022.2151886. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36448773.