Exploration of Osteopathic Medical Students' Reflections on Humanism in a Values-Centered Mentoring Program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Osteopathic Medicine
• Professional Development

Background:

• Mentoring is crucial for developing physicians' professional values.
• Humanism in medicine encompasses core values like compassion, integrity, and respect.
• Understanding student perspectives on humanism is vital for effective training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how diverse preclinical osteopathic medical students reflect on humanism in medicine.
• To analyze student experiences within a mentoring program focused on humanistic values.
• To identify key settings and contributors influencing the development of medical values.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of written reflections from first- and second-year osteopathic medical students (2015-2023).
• Combined inductive and deductive thematic analysis of 167 student-years of data.
• Purposeful sampling to ensure participant diversity and achieve data saturation.

Main Results:

• Students reflected on all components of the humanism in medicine framework, including integrity, compassion, and empathy.
• Learning experiences in both clinical and non-clinical settings prompted reflections on humanistic patient care.
• Diverse individuals, including mentors, peers, and patients, significantly inspired reflections on humanistic values.

Conclusions:

• Engaging with diverse individuals across various settings effectively promotes reflection on humanistic patient care.
• This study enhances the understanding of humanistic patient care from the perspective of preclinical osteopathic medical students.
• Mentoring programs can be tailored to leverage diverse experiences for cultivating essential physician values.