Flourishing as Formation: A Biblical-Theological Model for Medical Education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Theological Anthropology
• Critical Medical Humanities

Background:

• Current medical education frameworks for well-being often fail due to transactional logics, leading to burnout and moral injury.
• Existing approaches lack a coherent view of the human condition and professional identity formation.
• Critical medical humanities highlight the inseparability of flourishing from narratives, practices, and moral ecologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an analytic model of flourishing grounded in theological anthropology.
• To examine how biblical texts illuminate formation processes and developmental trajectories.
• To offer a framework for aligning medical education with human flourishing in pluralistic contexts.

Main Methods:

• Interpretive analysis of exemplary biblical texts (e.g., Psalm 1, Beatitudes).
• Lexical pattern analysis and examination of narrative design motifs.
• Development of a conceptual model of "formation spaces" within a "formation ecosystem."

Main Results:

• Biblical texts articulate pathways to flourishing through narrative alignment, communal practice, and embodied identity.
• The Eden-Exile pattern serves as an archetype for understanding formation within counter-flourishing systems.
• Formation spaces are characterized by agreement structures, agency, trust, and meaningful impact.

Conclusions:

• Medical education environments implicitly hold assumptions about human nature and the good life that must be clarified.
• A theological anthropology framework can guide medical education toward fostering genuine physician flourishing.
• This study contributes to transdisciplinary conversations in medical humanities, offering a new perspective on physician formation.