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Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
10, 2022;37 (5): 1267-1274.

Integration of Arts and Humanities in Medical Education: a Narrative Review.

Rachel Smydra, Matthew May, Varna Taranikanti, Misa Mi
Author Information
  1. Rachel Smydra: Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA. smydra@oakland.edu. ORCID
  2. Matthew May: Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice, College of Arts and Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
  3. Varna Taranikanti: Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
  4. Misa Mi: Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
PMID: 34319566 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-021-02058-3

Abstract

This narrative review aims to identify and review the extant literature describing methods and outcomes of embedding the arts and Humanities (AH) into medical school curricula. The Association of American Medical Colleges changed the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in 2015 to place new emphasis on the role of liberal arts in the process of developing well-rounded physicians. Consequently, medical schools have been implementing more connections to creative writing, literature, theater, movies, music, and the visual arts into their curricula. To review the current literature, we focused on methods medical educators used to embed content related to AH into their curricula to shape and drive associated learning outcomes. We conducted searches in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC for peer-reviewed articles from 2011 to 2020. The authors selected three dyads in medical Humanities and reviewed articles independently followed by discussion to identify thematic links to major findings. Out of 261 articles, a total of 177 full-text articles were reviewed with 34 selected for final inclusion. Our review included articles describing curriculum development and delivery in publications from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the USA. This review showed medical educators are implementing didactic and experiential instructional approaches to embedding the arts, Humanities, and social sciences into the medical school classroom. Medical educators' attempts to embed AH into medical school curricula show promising results. Unfortunately, small sample sizes, short-term interventions, and an over-reliance of subjective assessment measures limit our knowledge of the true impact of these interventions. More rigorous assessments of required and longitudinal coursework are necessary to know the true impact of participation in AH coursework for medical students.

Keywords

Arts Empathy Humanities Learning outcomes Medical curriculum Undergraduate medical education

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MeSH Term

Curriculum
Education, Medical
Education, Medical, Undergraduate
Humanities
Humans
Learning
Students, Medical
Journal Article Review
Article has an altmetric score of 4

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