To be continued.

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To be continued.
Centre for Medical Humanities
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Seminar 1. MH in the UK

• Durham Context where we work
• Development of Medical Humanities
• Focus on UK with reference to US and Australia
• Medical Humanities in the UK today
• The Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham (CMH)

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Medical Humanities in UK Universities (2008)

• 3 main Centres with Chairs in MH
• Durham
• Kings College
• Swansea

• Masters courses at
• Swansea
• Kings College
• Leicester
• Bristol
• Developing in
• Aberdeen

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Emphasis in UK

• Several ideas operating
• Medical Education
• focus on professionalism but humanism not part
  of the argument. Authenticity of behaviour
  important(GMC Duties reflect this next slide)
• Fundamental humanities based research
• challenging underpinning ideas in medicine and
  healthcare, and in research
• Arts in health
• public health enhancement

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General Medical Councils Duties of a Doctor (UK
Code of Practice)New emphasis on how doctors act

• Respect patients dignity and privacy
• Respect the right of patients to be fully
  involved in decisions about their care
• Be honest and trustworthy

• Treat patients as individuals and respect their
  dignity
• Work in partnership with patients
• Be honest and open and act with integrity

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Emphasis in UK

• Several ideas operating
• Medical Education
• focus on professionalism but humanism not part
  of the argument. Authenticity of behaviour
  important(GMC Duties reflect this)
• Fundamental humanities based research
• challenging underpinning ideas in medicine and
  healthcare, and in research
• Arts in health
• public health enhancement

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Successful application to the Wellcome Trust for
2m over five years to fund the
Centre for Medical Humanities
Theme Medicine and Human Flourishing
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The argument - 1

• A medical paradox we seem to be able to do
  more for patients, but they seem less satisfied
• Medicalisation of other problems
• Need to revisit medicines task
• The centrality of experience

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The argument

• Medicine informed by the humanities
• Humanities informed by medicine
• The Medical Humanities project

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Medical humanities

• Understand the human side of medicine
• Subjective, individual experiences of health,
  illness etc
• Transactions between people
• Humanities/social sciences perspectives alongside
  scientific

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Our proposal medicine human flourishing

• How should medical knowledge shape human
  flourishing and vice versa?
• Test two assumptions
• human flourishing can be described
• medicines role in it needs definition revision
• Critical mass of scholars and disciplines
  together

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The need for scholarly critical mass

• Current lack is key impediment to progress
• Teams versus lone researchers
• Full-time attention versus fleeting glances
• Structured spontaneity the coffee break
  principle
• Key approach to interdisciplinarity

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The four thematic enquiries

• Challenge divergence between scientific/experienti
  al
• Reduce effects of divergence upon practice
  policy
• Incorporate humanities perspectives within
  medicine
• Explore dialogue between scientific humanities
  perspectives

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Centre for Arts and Humanities in Health and
Medicine (CAHHM)

• This was the predecessor to CMH
• New Centre will benefit from its work in three
  areas of research
• Medical humanities
• Literature and philosophy in medicine
  understanding subjective experience
• Health care environments
• Value of art and design in hospitals for patient
  recovery
• Arts in health
• Role of creative activity in individual and
  community health, well-being and engagement

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Visual Art Christine Borland
Drama Dominic Slowie of Operating Theatre
Dance Penny Greenland of Jabadao
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Public engagement

• Public lectures
• Cafés Scientifique
• NHS staff events/CPD
• Pathway projects
• Artists workshops
• Operating Theatre

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HUMANITIES SOCIAL SCIENCES Conce
ptual Relational Flourishing
Medical professionals Suffering Patients,
carers, society Intimacy Artists,
academics Care Arts
Medicine Policy Pr
actices PRACTITIONERS
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Summary

• Medical humanities are at the centre of a long
  history of debate about the relative values of
  objective scientific views and subjective
  humanistic views of human nature
• New developments are attempting to integrate
  ideas from both views while recognising the value
  of both
• Medical Humanities currently flourishing because
  of interests in healthcare education in
  professionalism (UK) and humanism (US)
• Recent significant boost to the field in the UK
  through the Wellcome Trust strategic award scheme

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Suggested further reading

• Brody H. Stories of Sickness, Oxford, OUP, 2003
• Cohen JJ. Linking professionalism to humanism
  what it means, why it matters. Academic
  Medicine, 2007, 82 1029-1032.
• Downie RS, Macnaughton J. Bioethics and
  Humanities attitudes and perceptions. Oxford
  Routledge-Cavendish, 2007.
• Midgley M. Science and Poetry. London
  Routledge, 2001.
• Montgomery Hunter K. Doctors Stories the
  narrative structure of medical knowledge.
  Princeton Princeton University Press, 1991.