"An eye-opener:" a qualitative study of a liberal arts approach to medical education

Medical educators have underscored the need for medical students to study the larger sociocultural and economic forces that influence health rather than simply basic and clinical sciences; however, previous studies have not evaluated the impact of implementing a full-scale liberal arts approach to medical education. Such a model has been implemented at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, and we sought to evaluate the student experience.

We used a qualitative study with a grounded theory approach with in-depth interviews of MBBS students at UGHE. Interviews were conducted by members of the researcher team unknown to MBBS students using a semi-structured discussion guide; interviews continued until the point of theoretical saturation, and we used the constant comparison method of qualitative data analysis to understand recurrent themes.

Participants (n = 18) were evenly split between male and female; 66.7% were from Rwanda and 33.3% were international students. Participants had completed the liberal arts component of the curriculum, which was given in the first 6 months of the MBBS. Recurrent themes emerged in four broad areas pertaining to what the liberal arts approach was and its impact on students, their peer groups, and their perceived clinical capability. The four recurrent themes were: (1) the liberal arts experience encompassed a unique approach to class content, pedagogy, and culture, (2) it widened student perspectives, (3) it strengthened peer relations and teamwork skills, and (4) students believed it improved their clinical capability.

Medical students reported a profound effect of including a liberal arts approach in the medical undergraduate curriculum as delivered at UGHE. With increased accessibility to online education, it has never been more important to examine and support the humanization of education-particularly for medical students who wish to tackle global health equity. A liberal arts approach may offer a path forward.