Health Humanities in Postgraduate Medical Education A Handbook to the Heart of Medicine

Most medical schools in the US, Canada and UK now incorporate some form of arts and humanities-based teaching into their curricula. What happens in residency is another story. Most postgraduate programs do not continue the thread of such teaching although many residents would like to deepen their understanding of the medical humanities before they move into practice. The humanities emphasize "the human side of medicine", and can provide a counterpoint to the reductionism of evidence-based medicine and technological hubris for young doctors as they apply new knowledge and skills in ambiguous, real-life encounters with patients who are living with complicated health problems. Humanities-based education can help both sides of the relationship: programs are shown to reduce burnout and mental health issues in young physicians, and can also help learning practitioners grapple with the most difficult aspects of their craft: how does one persuade patients on a course of treatment, while respecting informed consent? How does one work with families? How does one listen to and treat patients exhibiting self-harm tendencies? Available research may demonstrate the efficacy of such exposures, but provide little practical advice or resources for setting up programs across specialty and sub-specialty disciplines. Health Humanities in Post-Graduate Medical Education will fill this gap in knowledge translation for the thousands of residency programs worldwide, allowing educators, supervisors, and residents themselves to create robust and educationally sound workshops, seminars, study groups, lecture series, research and arts-based projects, publications and events.

Allan Peterkin is a Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Toronto, where he heads the Program in Health, Arts and Humanities and serves as Humanities Faculty Lead for undergraduate medical education and post-MD studies. He is the author of 14 books for adults and children, including Staying Human During Residency Training-How To Survive and Thrive After Medical School. Anna Skorzewska is a psychiatrist and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. She runs a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and teaches extensively in both postgraduate and continuing professional development. She has an interest in the use of the arts and humanities in clinical practice and in medical education. She started a film program for psychiatric inpatients in collaboration with the Toronto International Film Festival. She has been the executive producer of a documentary film portrait of a psychiatric inpatient ward that was part of the official selection of The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.