Institute of Clinical Education, Peninsula Medical School, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter, UK.
Med Educ. 2013 Feb;47(2):126-33. doi: 10.1111/medu.12056.
There is increasing interest in establishing the medical humanities as core integrated provision in undergraduate medicine curricula, but sceptics point to the lack of evidence for their impact upon patient care. Further, the medical humanities culture has often failed to provide a convincing theoretical rationale for the inclusion of the arts and humanities in medical education.
Poor communication with colleagues and patients is the main factor in creating the conditions for medical error; this is grounded in a historically determined refusal of democracy within medical work. The medical humanities may play a critical role in educating for democracy in medical culture generally, and in improving communication in medical students specifically, as both demand high levels of empathy. Studies in the science of communication can provide a valuable evidence base justifying the inclusion of the medical humanities in the core curriculum. A case is made for the potential of the medical humanities--as a form of 'adult play'--to educate for collaboration and tolerance of ambiguity or uncertainty, providing a key element of the longer-term democratising force necessary to change medical culture and promote safer practice.
The arts and humanities can provide important contextual media through which the lessons learned from the science of communication in medicine can be translated and promoted as forms of medical education.
人们越来越关注将医学人文学科确立为本科医学课程的核心综合内容，但持怀疑态度的人指出，目前缺乏其对患者护理产生影响的证据。此外，医学人文学科文化常常未能为将艺术和人文学科纳入医学教育提供令人信服的理论依据。
与同事和患者沟通不畅是造成医疗差错的主要因素；这源于医学工作中历史上决定的对民主的拒绝。医学人文学科可能在医学文化的民主教育中发挥关键作用，特别是在提高医学生的沟通能力方面，因为两者都需要高度的同理心。沟通科学研究可以为将医学人文学科纳入核心课程提供有价值的证据基础。有人认为，医学人文学科——作为一种“成人游戏”——有可能为协作和对模糊性或不确定性的容忍提供教育，这是改变医学文化和促进更安全实践所需的长期民主化力量的关键要素。
艺术和人文学科可以提供重要的背景媒介，通过这些媒介，可以将医学沟通科学中学到的经验教训转化并推广为医学教育形式。
