Medicine and the Humanities

[gnich1914]

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Are there opportunities for doctors to become involved in more social/humanistic aspects of medicine? If so could you provide some examples
(Only I could think of is Oliver Sacks).

 

[LizzyM]

There have been a significant number of physicians who have used medicine as a springboard for fiction writing (e.g. Richard Selzer, Perri Klass, even Robin Cook) and others who have written non-fiction about health care, health policy, ethics, (e.g. John Lantos, Sherwin Nuland). Physicians also contribute essays and commentaries to medical journals (see JAMA for essays under the heading "A Piece of My Mind" a regular feature of that journal as well as op-ed pieces in newspapers such as the NYTimes and Wall Street Journal.) There are physicians who work in medical ethics as part of clinical practice (service as part of a hospital ethics committee) and in advocacy for changes in government and institutional policy. They may write for publication to a general audience on topics related to medical ethics and some will also make presentations to the general public or to legislators and regulators (executive branch people who put policies in place.

The American Society for Bioethics and Humanties is a good place to start. You might also enjoy the NYU reading guide for material that will inspire you:

https://guides.nyu.edu/c.php?g=722586&p=5151640

 

[Goro]

Doctors Without Borders

Physicians in the United States Congress - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[gyngyn]

Pharos (the Journal of the AOA).

 

[ParachuteAdams]

.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Is there a specific social/humanistic area you're interested in? It's definitely possible, to varying degrees depending on your interest and resources. I've worked with a lot of doctors involved in the bioethics/legal implications side of things, and have found it pretty easy to get involved in that at my medical school. If you're more interested in the arts/literature side, there are tons of physician writers, including the ones already mentioned in this thread. Many medical schools have medical humanities interest groups, student journals, or even academic tracks you can participate in.

 

[masala58413]

You could do philosophy and lean into bioethics (though this might be getting a bit more applied than what you want). There are some great pieces out there on the construct of medicine as a profession, exploring what it means to care for someone and to be responsible for their body. There's also the philosophy of medicine itself, which is a little bit more based in the epistemological commitments of medical diagnosis and clinician judgment.

Narrative medicine (which might be closest to what you're looking for) explores the patient and the physician in terms of their lifestory and their truth. Check out works by Rita Charon and her amazing group at Columbia. Several top medical journals publish narratives and poems these days (the JAMA group comes to mind). I know several undergrads have started literary journals in narrative medicine for pre-meds to explore this perspective early on.

There's been a big push in medical schools to include visual arts in the curriculum as a way to exercise observation and empathy. So you could address the art of medicine. I did a seminar in undergrad that was on Narrative, Theater, and Medicine, in which we studied passages from Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Chekhov to understand the human condition. These were all really fascinating ways to use the humanities to use the same faculties of empathy that doctors must employ everyday.

I think end-of-life issues provide a wonderful tie-in for medicine and the humanities. It's extremely difficult to discuss what you what at the end of life, what you want your legacy to be. The arts provide a nice proxy by which people can communicate and reflect on what they want. I've organized some workshops that incorporate film, dance, and theater to begin conversations about advance care planning. There's been an onslaught of films (both fictional and documentary) that have addressed these.

Several medical schools have distinction tracks in bioethics and medical humanities, so you can definitely carry on research and activities in this area. I concur with the above poster to check out ASBH, as well as The Hastings Center, Kennedy Institute of Ethics (Georgetown), and Berman Institute of Bioethics (Johns Hopkins). The last one has an excellent weekly email that compiles bioethics/philosophy of medicine in academic literature. It's a great starting point.

A few things to check out:
Wit (film or play)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
The House of God by Samuel Shem
poems by William Carlos Williams and Rafael Campos

 

[gnich1914]

Thanks for the post guys! This helps a lot.

 

[Styrene]

There is a medical humanities MD/MA track at my school. I'm sure others have it, as well. People have studied things like wellness, narrative, reflection rounds, etc. In hindsight, I wish I did it. Alas...

 

[gnich1914]

There is a medical humanities MD/MA track at my school. I'm sure others have it, as well. People have studied things like wellness, narrative, reflection rounds, etc. In hindsight, I wish I did it. Alas...

Thanks, if you don’t mind. Why do you wish you did It in hindsight? Wouldn’t clinical science be preferred?

 

[Styrene]

Thanks, if you don’t mind. Why do you wish you did It in hindsight? Wouldn’t clinical science be preferred?

Well, I have done a lot of clinical research. I still would have done clinical research if I did the humanities thing. I think it would have been interesting and not too difficult. I'm going into psychiatry, and there are some ideas I would have liked to explore further, like the philosophy of science and the "medical model" as it applies to psychiatry. I had planned to go into another field up until halfway through third year, so I was focused on other things and didn't have these ideas at the time. I think it would also be a somewhat unique degree to add to my CV, if you will.

 

[little_giant]

Do you know for social policy if there are preferred specialties? Like being an internist or family practice is more apt for the job compared to an orthopedic surgeon for example

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Do you know for social policy if there are preferred specialties? Like being an internist or family practice is more apt for the job compared to an orthopedic surgeon for example

Depends on your policy of interest. Off the top of my head, I personally know people involved in policy work who trained in IM, ID, peds, EM, genetics... I'd say IM/peds/FM (or any specialty + public health background) would align well with general healthcare policy stuff, but it's possible from any specialty. Lots of trauma surgeons are outspoken on things like gun violence related policy, for example, while pediatricians and geneticists will be more involved in genetics-focused policy, etc.

 

[Styrene]

Do you know for social policy if there are preferred specialties? Like being an internist or family practice is more apt for the job compared to an orthopedic surgeon for example

Psychiatry, as well. In fact, there is a fellowship out of psych residency called public psychiatry.