American Medical Student Association

Program Description

The Medical Humanities Scholars Program is a learning experience that utilizes conference calls to provide up to ten medical students with the opportunity to consider how medicine, disease, and physicians are viewed, and to write and reflect on the intersections between these arenas. This year’s theme is “The Illness Narrative", with discussions led by notable physician-humanists: Marsha Hurst, Sayantani DasGupta, Bradley Lewis, Robert Klitzman, and James Borton. Attendance and participation in conference calls, selected readings on humanities in medicine, and writing short essays will determine satisfactory completion of the program. Implementation of a specific medical humanities project at each participant's school is expected.

Learning Objectives

Knowledge

• Articulate how the humanities enrich and lend perspective to the medical field

Skills

• Integrate experiences from this program (e.g. books read, prose/poetry written, discussions had) into their practice/thinking of medicine
• Cogently discuss, write, and/or otherwise express views, feelings, and thoughts on the practice of medicine/experiences with patients utilizing the humanities
• Successfully explore issues of debate within medicine from an ethical and humanistic perspective
• Carry out a medical education project in the medical humanities at home institution

Attitudes

• Acknowledge the human experience in the processes of healing and dying
• View the practice of medicine as integration between science and humanities

*Tentative* Schedule

The dates are as follows, at 8 pm EST, on Thursdays. (subject to minor changes)

• November 3,17
• December 1,15
• January 5,19
• February 2,16
• March 8, 29
• April 12, 26

Participant Expectations

• Maintain attendance (attendance is critical due to the small number of scholars and calls)
• Read the selected readings ahead of the call
• Participate in conference calls, in discussion, and in writing exercises while on the call
• Sponsor an event or project at your school that highlights medical humanities, with an identified mentor or faculty advisor and sustainable plan to continue or expand the project 

Selection Criteria

The Medical Humanities Scholars will be a small and versatile group of passionate individuals with different interests, experiences, and levels of knowledge of creative reflection, doctor-patient communication, and the model of narrative medicine.

• Availability: We are especially interested in students who are both motivated to fully participate in this rigorous academic program and who have availability in their schedule to do so. We believe that participants will benefit most from this intensive approach, but we also recognize that students have other important and competing academic and extracurricular interests and activities.

• Team Player: A desire to engage with and contribute to the group is essential. The program will foster an online community for students to work together and with experts in order to gain new perspectives, knowledge, and clinical skills.

• Innovation in Education: Students who have the curiosity to ask why the status quo exists and the creativity to challenge it in productive ways. Students who want to share their newfound knowledge with their colleagues.

• We do NOT ask for experience in medical humanities or education. It's great if you have it, great if you don't. We are more interested in your enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and time commitment.

Application Process

• Applications Due: October 31, 2011
• Phone Interviews: if applicable

Program Fees

• $30 due no later than November 30, 2011