Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration
Medicine is both an art and a science. By exploring medicine through the lenses of history, ethics, law, literature, philosophy, religion, the social sciences, theatre, cultural studies, and the arts (such as photography, drawing, painting, and music), students in our medical humanities scholarly concentration gain insights into the human condition—especially experiences of illness. Through a community of their peers andfaculty support, students study the human side of medicine, including developing their own character. Students learn self-compassion as a way of cultivating the most important instrument of healing: their individual selves. Drawing on the tradition of the humanities, students learn to engage with medicine on a deeper level.
The McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics offers a Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration that allows medical students to enrich their medical education through study and involvement in the humanities. Since 2007, the concentration has offered students the opportunity to enrich their medical education through participation in:
- faculty-led courses,
- lecture series with guest speakers,
- Houston-based events,
- writing workshops and artistic workshops, and
- directed research projects.
The Medical Humanities Scholarly Concentration encompasses all four years of medical school and confers a special designation and dean recognition upon graduation. The program is a recognized member of the Scholarly Concentrations Program.
How Our Program is Different
Many medical schools have electives and special service-learning activities designed to enhance students’ medical training. Few, if any, have a certificate program encompassing all four years of medical training with structured activities and learning opportunities that allow students to reflect, share, and work together to enhance their individual and collective capacities to see and care for the patient, not simply the disease.
Students completing this program receive a special designation on their permanent transcript, in their Dean’s letter, and at graduation as a John P. McGovern, M.D., Humanities Scholar. They will also have opportunities to present scholarly works at various venues in the Texas Medical Center and at national meetings.
Program Goals
- To enhance the traditional medical school curriculum with a medical humanities education;
- Help students explore the soul of medicine, the human side of medicine;
- Help students focus on their reason for becoming caregivers, while learning to care for the self;
- To assist students in becoming ethical and compassionate caregivers.
Contact Information
Keisha Ray, PhD, Director
Angela Gomez, EdD, MBA, MS, Coordinator
Alejandro Zapata, BA, Student Liaison