Humanities in medical education: revisiting the doctor-patient relationship

Medical students, overwhelmed by new information, rarely appreciate patients' complaints beyond their biomedical aspects. To encourage students to think more comprehensively about patients, I initiated a biweekly series of seminars in medical humanities at the Duke University School of Medicine. Emphasizing science, without acknowledging the importance of the humanities, undermines the essential attribute of the good physician: the ability to establish a productive dialogue with the patient. Education in the humanities can broaden the student's scientific perspective, and reinforce medicine's critical, interpretive, and interpersonal tasks. The humanities inculcate a tolerance for ambiguity, provide a basis for the reconciliation of competing values, and foster the ability to discern the narrative thread in the setting of illness. The paper highlights the elements of the lecture series and suggests how it helps cultivate a core competency of medical education: learning to engage in the dialogue that grounds the doctor-patient relationship.