THE BECOMING OF A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL: INTEGRATING HUMANITIES-BASED RESOURCES IN A MEDICAL ENGLISH COURSE

Abstract

Medical humanities emphasises the importance of the development of both humanitarian and professional skills in medical students and is an increasingly significant part of the medical curriculum in many countries. The present paper proposes that English for Medical Purposes (EMP) classes are particularly well-placed to integrate medical humanities material and can effectively manage the complementary goals of fostering foreign language competence in linguistically demanding contexts and skills development for professional growth, including critical awareness, intellectual reasoning, self-reflective practices and humanistic values. A small-scale project is described, which was implemented as part of an EMP undergraduate course. Poems, short stories and relevant visual imagery with the thematic focus on disability were employed, along with group discussions that encouraged critical introspection on the part of the students. The intervention demonstrates the educational potential and the linguistic benefit of such approaches in reinforcing students’ reflective practices about the essence of medical practice, the process of doctoring and their professional awareness, particularly in medical curricula where humanities-based learning is largely absent. It is hoped that if medical students are provided with more ‘humanistic tools’ they can commit long-term to an ethical and responsible professional behaviour that is centred upon effective, patient-centred care.