Medical educators have only limited understanding of how integrating humanities-based components into standard curricula contributes to the medical students' professionalism. This study qualitatively analyzed how students used a creative-project assignment during their third-year internal medicine clerkships to explore various aspects of their professional development.

A total of 277 students from three consecutive classes (1999-2002) at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine each completed a creative project reflecting on a particularly problematic or meaningful illness-related incident. Process and content analyses of the 221 projects submitted for analysis were performed.

Students' projects employed a wide range of formats, tones, and styles to examine the process of socialization into medicine. Within this framework, their work tended to explore issues such as the proper relationship of medical students to patients, coming to terms with death and dying, understanding the patient's experience of illness, and coping with professional and personal stress.

A creative-projects course component can be a valuable adjunct to traditional clerkship activities in helping students to reflect on the process of becoming a physician.

The Program in Medical Humanities & Arts at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine has been in existence for five years. The program was implemented to enhance aspects of professionalism including empathy, altruism, compassion, and caring toward patients, as well as to hone clinical communication and observational skills. It contains elective or required curriculum across all four years of medical school and required curriculum in two residency programs, organized according to structural principles of horizontal coherence, vertical complexity, and patient care applications. The program emphasizes small-group, interdisciplinary teaching and faculty development, and is notable for learners' use of creative projects to reflect on patients and themselves. Evaluation of the program indicates a positive response among learners. More systematic studies point to increases in empathy and positive attitudes toward the humanities as tools for professional development as a result of exposure to the program curriculum. Future directions include closer collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, Schools of the Arts and Humanities, involvement of local artists and writers, and development of a graduation with distinction in humanities for medical students.

The authors describe a longitudinal third- and fourth-year elective, 'The Art of Doctoring', introduced in an attempt to counteract perceived frustration and cynicism in medical students at their home institution during the clinical years. The course goals aimed at helping students to develop self-reflective skills; improve awareness of and ability to modify personal attitudes and behaviors that compromise patient care; increase altruism, empathy and compassion toward patients; and sustain commitment to patient care, service and personal well-being. These goals were accomplished through introduction and development of five skill sets: learning from role models and peers; on-site readings of works by medical student- and physician-authors; self- and other-observation; self-reflective techniques; and case-based problem-solving. The course involved regular in-class exercises and homework assignments, as well as a personal project related to improving personal compassion, caring and empathy toward patients. Students also learned to use a coping algorithm to approach problematic clinical and interpersonal situations. Class discussions revealed three issues of recurring importance to students: loss of idealism, non-compliant patients, and indifferent, harsh or otherwise unpleasant attendings and residents. Quantitative and qualitative student evaluations overall indicated a generally favorable response to the course. Problems and barriers included attendance difficulties and variable levels of student engagement. Future directions for this type of educational intervention are considered, as well as its implications for medical education.

Observation, including identification of key pieces of data, pattern recognition, and interpretation of significance and meaning, is a key element in medical decision making. Clinical observation is taught primarily through preceptor modelling during the all-important clinical years. No single method exists for communicating these skills, and medical educators have periodically experimented with using arts-based training to hone observational acuity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the similarities and differences between arts-based and clinical teaching approaches to convey observation and pattern recognition skills.

A total of 38 Year 3 students participated in either small group training with clinical photographs and paper cases (group 1), or small group training using art plus dance (group 2), both consisting of 3 2-hour sessions over a 6-month period.

Students in both conditions found value in the training they received and, by both self- and instructor-report, appeared to hone observation skills and improve pattern recognition. The clinically based condition appeared to have been particularly successful in conveying pattern recognition concepts to students, probably because patterns presented in this condition had specific correspondence with actual clinical situations, whereas patterns in art could not be generalised so easily to patients. In the arts-based conditions, students also developed skills in emotional recognition, cultivation of empathy, identification of story and narrative, and awareness of multiple perspectives.

The interventions studied were naturally complementary and, taken together, can bring greater texture to the process of teaching clinical medicine by helping us see a more complete 'picture' of the patient.

Family practice residents and students receive substantial teaching from senior residents. Yet, we lack data about residents' needs for teaching skills development, particularly in generalist training. This multicenter, interdisciplinary study describes the learning needs of generalist residents for becoming more effective teachers.

One hundred medical students, residents, and faculty infamily medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics participated in 11 focus groups and 4 semi-structured key informant interviews at the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, Los Angeles in 2000-2001.

Participants agreed that resident teachers fulfill critical roles in medical education, providing powerful, skills-based teaching that can tangibly benefit both residents themselves and their junior learners. House staff often facilitate students' best learning experiences despite inherent risks in serving as teachers and professional role models. Residents need teaching skills training that prepares them to lead clinical teams and teach students essential skills that include history taking and physical examination, critical reasoning, charting, and procedures.

Generalist residents fulfill important roles as practical clinical teachers and role models for junior learners. Future research should address how resident teachers affect learners' clinical skills, academic performance, and professionalism.

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Editors:  Thomas King, Gráinne McEvoy

Faculty Advisors:  Johanna Shapiro, Lloyd Rucker

Our sincere thanks to the following people and departments:

Kate Aceves, for typesetting, design & production, without whom we’d probably still be struggling with putting this together!

All our contributors for their creativity and generosity with their work

Publication of this journal is supported by funds from USPHS UCI Grant for the Establishment of Departments of Family Medicine No. PE10152, whom we thank for their generous funding of this fledgling effort.

UCI College of Medicine Journal of Arts & Humanities 2000 Edition Volume 1

PLEXUS 2000 UCI College of Medicine