Jennifer Marie J. Yang, MD

Two schools, two Medical Humanities classes, two wonderful co-teachers in this past week. And when you have enough time: panel guests too!

And now time to breathe, for the humanities and the arts provide opportunities for the physician to reflect and create. Hopefully our formal introductions to the Medical Humanities for the upcoming generation of doctors will help them find what we all have discovered on our own. We had fun putting these sessions together and I think the students had fun participating in them as well.

Many thanks and congratulations to:

• Dermatologist Dr. Maria Theresa “Tec” Sanchez-Tolosa (art here, poetry here, and professional bio here), for co-teaching the session at St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial
• Endocrinologist Dr. Ella Mae Masamayor (podcast here, writing here, and professional bio here), for co-teaching the session at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine
• Our panelists for the UP College of Medicine session:
  • Nephrologist Marissa Elizabeth “Mar” Lim (music – choral singing)
  • Pathologist Celestine “Leslie” Trinidad (writing – romance novels and more)
  • Rehabilitation Medicine physician Terezia “Tere” Pineda (visual art – sample here)

Our sessions started with theoretical and experiential talks about the intersection of illness / health / medicine with the the fine arts, social sciences and humanistic disciplines (philosophy, religion, literature), emphasizing how this interdisciplinary field can benefit physicians in clinical work and their physician-patient relationships. This was followed by a lively open forum with many, many questions about how all these can come together in building a life in doctoring. Finally, we divided the students into groups of 7 so they could have intimate, robust discussions about health-related photos, paintings, poetry, prose, panels of comics [awkward alliteration, but it works] and report their analyses to the rest of the class.

The bottom line for our students: don’t give up your artsy, creative, touchy-feely side as you immerse yourselves in the science of medicine. It helps you feel grounded and builds resilience. A holistic medical education and subsequent medical practice includes both solid clinical expertise and “soft skills” that can be developed through exposure to the humanities – empathy, communication, connection… complementary skills which may be as important, if not more important than clinical acumen in the helping professions.

P.S.: I wore appropriate socks for both classes!