Teaching Humanism in Medical Training

Humanism in Dental Education: A Comparison of Theory, Intention, and Stakeholder Perceptions at a North American Dental School

“…6,14,[21][22][23]32 The business community has also acknowledged the value and resulting benefits of humanism to organizational culture. 6,14,[21][22][23]32 The business community has also acknowledged the value and resulting benefits of humanism to organizational culture.…”

“…7 In the context of education, this concept represented a paradigm shift from the narrower goal of academic achievement toward broader goals of self-actualization, fulfilling relationships, interdependence, self-expression, maximizing individual potential, and mutual support. 22,24,25 At the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, a commitment to humanism has informed the learning environment since the mid-1970s ( Table 1). 22,24,25 At the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, a commitment to humanism has informed the learning environment since the mid-1970s ( Table 1).…”

“…8 According to Combs, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) codified the concept operationally in 1979 by specifying that a humanistic education accepts the learner's needs and purposes and customizes experiences to his or her distinctive potential; facilitates self-actualization and a sense of adequacy; fosters skill acquisition necessary for living in a multicultural society, including academic, personal, interpersonal, communicative, and economic proficiency; personalizes educational decisions and practices, including students in the processes democratically; recognizes human feelings, personal values, and perceptions as integral factors in educational processes; develops a learning climate perceived by involved individuals as challenging, same way, authors have argued that these kinds of interactions are important to positive relationships among faculty, staff, and students. 22,24,25 At the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, a commitment to humanism has informed the learning environment since the mid-1970s ( Table 1). The institution expresses the concept in the following way: "Our view of humanism is based upon honest communication of clear expectations along with positive support for diligent effort.…”

“…Studies have found that patients who perceive they are being treated humanistically enjoy better health outcomes. 14,[20][21][22][23] Role modeling was found by Weissmann et al to be one of the strongest ways of teaching humanistic values in a health care learning environment, with the best faculty members' being highly aware of their prominence as role models. 20 In that study, learners recognized best practices in simple faculty behaviors including nonverbal communication such as tone of voice, eye contact, touch, sitting at patient eye level, including and respecting the patient in decision making, eliciting and accommodating patients' preferences, and identifying shared background or experiences.…”

Unpacking affective learning: a longitudinal, qualitative study exploring how junior doctors learn to be compassionate through practice

“…The Humanism Project led to 'Project Professionalism' in the mid 1990s and to the plethora of teaching and learning initiatives which formally placed professionalism in the curriculum (Bonic, 2004) (Branch et al, 2001) (Branch et al, 2009) (Cohen, 2007) (Demehri, 2011) (Dornan, 2014) (Fishbein, 1999) (Goldberg, 2008) (Gracey et al, 2005) (Hart, 2011) (Hartzband and Groopman, 2009) (King, 1970) (Kumagai, 2008) (Logio et al, 2011) (Maheux et al, 2000) (Marcus, 1999) (Markakis et al, 2000) (Misch, 2002) (Moyer et al, 2010) (Packer et al, 2008) (Pellegrino, 1974) (Rizzolo, 2002) (Swick, 2007) (Wasserstein, 2007) (Wear and Castellani, 2000) (Wilson, 2004). These learning initiatives have become bound together with the range of attempts by regulating bodies, individuals and professional organisations to codify the professional values, aspirations and societal commitments of the medical profession.…”