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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Published on: April 18, 2025
HEART-IM: A Fourth-Year Humanistic Elective for Improving Medical Education.
Allison Hecht1, Adriana Herrera2, Sachi Desai3
1Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Family Medicine
|May 8, 2026
Summary
Medical education struggles with student and faculty burnout. The HEART-IM course highlighted the need for personal wellness, community, and integrating one's whole self with academic life to improve medical training.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Psychology
- Self-Care Studies
Background:
- Medical education presents significant challenges to student and faculty well-being.
- High rates of burnout and depression are prevalent among medical students and faculty.
- The Humanistic Elective in Advocacy, Reflective Transformation, and Integrative Medicine (HEART-IM) course offers a unique perspective on these issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze data from the HEART-IM course to identify areas for improvement in medical education.
- To understand the experiences of both students and faculty regarding self-care and well-being within medical training.
- To explore how innovative curricula can address burnout and enhance the learning environment.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative content analysis of open-ended survey responses from student and faculty participants.
- Survey administered shortly after completion of the HEART-IM course in Spring 2022.
- Conventional content analysis approach applied to identify emergent themes.
Main Results:
- Four distinct themes emerged from student responses: self-care as professional development, healing from medical education, connection with self, and confidence in personal wellness.
- Four distinct themes emerged from faculty responses: connection and community with/for students, learning beyond the curriculum, faculty inspiration from students, and renewed passion for medicine.
- Three meta-themes identified: the need for personal wellness and self-care, cultivating community, and healing the disconnect between personal and academic selves.
Conclusions:
- Innovative curricula like HEART-IM are valuable for enhancing medical education.
- The findings suggest a need to prioritize personal wellness, community building, and holistic integration in medical training.
- Addressing these areas can potentially improve the well-being of both students and faculty in medical education.
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