April 11, 2024
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A new Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track in Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine supports students who show exceptional involvement, accomplishment, and scholarship in medical and health humanities. The track will graduate its first group of medical students this spring.
Hippocrates called medicine "the practice of my art." Students at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine are exploring what it means to incorporate their artistic abilities into medical education through the Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track.
This educational track recognizes and supports medical school students who show exceptional involvement, accomplishment, and scholarship in medical and health humanities. The Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track will graduate its inaugural group of medical students this spring.
Rediscovering their love of art
Two students in that group, Yeonsoo Sara Lee and Rebekah Bihun, authored a letter to the editor of the Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. In it, the two self-described "doctor-artists" explain how their love of the arts has influenced their medical education in ways they didn't expect.
For Bihun, realizing her art could be useful in academic endeavors, such as through scientific illustration, renewed her enthusiasm for both drawing and her studies, she says in the letter. Lee recalls creating and sharing hand-drawn study guides, which were embraced by her class. The guides organized knowledge visually, filling a gap left by their more traditional study materials.
Both students benefited from an environment that encouraged that exploration.
Trailblazer in medical humanities education
Art and humanities classes have been taught at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine for more than a decade. Johanna Rian, Ph.D., who served as program director of the Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine before her retirement and spearheaded the development of the Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track, says she was offering medical humanities selectives for medical students as early as 2010.
"I was always moved by the personal statements from students when they finished a course or finished a reading," Rian says. "So many students said that the work they did in humanities provided a balance for them in their perspective and allowed them to think with another part of their brain and experience ways of learning that they don't experience in the context of their traditional medical curriculum."
Rian notes that at the time, Mayo was one of less than 10 medical schools in the country that had begun to talk about formalizing such a curriculum, adding that those schools only had a formalized curriculum, not a dedicated distinction track. She broached the idea of formalizing Mayo's medical humanities education in 2014.
The Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track was approved several years later and admitted its first group of students in 2020. The curriculum is designed and owned by Mayo Clinic.
Humanities education gives students new opportunities
Today, Humanities in Medicine education offerings are expanding at Mayo Clinic. Nineteen medical students are engaged in the Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track. The completion requirements include a final research or creative project.
Those final projects have resulted in peer-reviewed research articles, a children's book on anatomy, poetry collections, visual arts exhibits, and multimedia work.
Medical students may participate in Humanities in Medicine selectives regardless of whether they are part of the Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction track and have prior experience with arts and humanities.
Current offerings include selectives on visual arts, medical improv, and health inequity and social justice through an arts and humanities lens, as well as a foundational course on diverse arts and humanities approaches relevant to clinical contexts.
This programming furthers student skills in areas critical for clinical work — such as communication, teamwork, presence, empathy, and innovation — and supports well-being by providing the opportunity for reflection and creative expression.
In addition, Humanities in Medicine supports student-led initiatives, such as the annual presentation of The Tempest exhibit, the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine Humanities Interest Group, and the student-led selective Clinic Notes, in which student musicians can help address patient struggles and staff stress through music.
The Humanities in Medicine team continues to enhance education programming for Mayo Clinic students at all levels through the addition of new selectives and workshops, and the team is exploring opportunities to develop a formal track that would also be available for residents and fellows.
Bright futures for doctor-artists
Applied Medical and Health Humanities Distinction students are already making their mark at Mayo Clinic and beyond. Opportunities have abounded for Lee and Bihun as they have developed the practice of their art.
Both students joined the Association of Medical Illustrators, which has inspired them to grow their skills as medical illustrators. Lee has published several illustrations and was asked to design the cover for the December 2023 edition of the Journal of Urology. She will continue her training in the Urology Residency at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
"The Distinction Track supported me by consistently introducing me to role models, mentors, and ideas for how to continue my exploration, as well as providing external motivation to continue engaging in these activities through even the busiest times in my studies," Bihun says.