Medical humanities: An alliance or an aberration?

Area of Science:

• Medical Humanities
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies

Background:

• The field of medical humanities is often approached through philosophical, moral, and ethical lenses.
• There is a spectrum of views on the relationship between medicine and humanities, ranging from synergy to incompatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To delineate the contours of the label "medical humanities."
• To explore the synergistic potential and fundamental critiques of the medical humanities.
• To advocate for an alliance between medicine and humanities, particularly from a communication perspective.

Main Methods:

• Forum discussion format.
• Analysis of the interdisciplinary nature of medical humanities.
• Application of communication and discourse studies to the medical humanities.

Main Results:

• The author positions themselves in favor of an alliance between medicine and humanities.
• A communication-centered approach offers a valuable perspective on the medical humanities.
• The study highlights the importance of communication and discourse in understanding the medical humanities.

Conclusions:

• The medical humanities represent a valuable interdisciplinary field with synergistic potential.
• A communication and discourse studies framework provides a novel and effective lens for analyzing the medical humanities.
• Further exploration of the communication compass in medical humanities is warranted.