Introduction to Medical Humanities Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is medical humanities?
An interdisciplinary field that draws on individual disciplines but is united by concerns and outcomes. It shares methodological and conceptual space with medical sciences.
What is the aim of medical humanities in medicine?
To provide insight into human conditions, illness and suffering, perception of self, professionalism, and responsibilities to self and others.
What does introduction to arts and literature in medical education develop?
Observational skills, analytical reasoning, empathy, and self-reflection.
What is ethics?
The study of how we ought to live: values, principles, rules.
What is medical ethics?
The application of ethical reasoning to medical decision-making.
What are the ethical questions in medicine?
What is obligated?
What is prohibited?
What is permitted?
When is ethics invoked in medicine?
“Ethics is invoked whenever a healthcare professional sees a patient.” (MPS, 2011)
What is a doctor’s primary duty in clinical decisions?
To do the best they can for their patient – promoting their good.
What are the four overlapping approaches to medical humanities in education?
Instrumental, Intrinsic, Critical, Epistemological
What is the instrumental approach?
Humanities can teach particular skills and habits that make doctors better (e.g., using historical case histories to improve observation and empathy).
What is the intrinsic approach?
Emphasizes the inherent value of a liberal education for a profession like medicine – humanises the profession.
What is the critical approach?
Provides an independent lens on medical practice, emphasising marginalised groups and challenging medical power.
What is the epistemological approach?
Medical education needs scientific truth and narrative meaning; medical humanities improve medical decision-making by applying general truths to specific contexts.
What is the General Medical Council (GMC)?
A charity that oversees the medical profession in the UK.
What is the GMC’s role according to the Medical Act 1983?
To work with doctors, patients, and stakeholders to support good, safe patient care by setting and helping meet standards.
What is the GMC’s Good Medical Practice?
It sets out the principles, values, and standards of care and professional behaviour expected of all doctors.
What are the four domains of the Duties of a Doctor (GMC)?
Knowledge, skills and development
Patients, partnership and communication
Colleagues, culture and safety
Trust and professionalism
What must doctors do to justify patients’ trust?
Make the care of patients their first concern and meet professional standards.
What does trust allow patients to do?
To bare their bodies and souls and share deeply personal details.
What happens when there are breaches in trust?
They carry public interest due to the strong perception that medical professionals are trustworthy.
How should doctors apply the standards in Good Medical Practice?
Use professional judgment in specific contexts, acting in good faith and in the interest of patients.
What does ‘epistemic genre’ mean?
‘Epistemic’ relates to knowledge; ‘genre’ means kind or category – epistemic genres are categories for communicating knowledge.
Why is understanding epistemic genres important in medical education?
Different genres communicate knowledge in different ways, which affects how students should read and apply them.
What is the function of academic papers in epistemic genre?
To communicate arguments – research papers produce new knowledge; reviews summarise existing dat
