What is the value of studying the humanities in the field of health professions?
Health care is a diverse and ever-changing field. One of the most recent and very critical challenges facing health care is the lack of empathy among medical professionals, particularly doctors. A health care professional ought to be caring, compassionate, and understanding of their patients. Lack of empathy and compassion has been associated with a medical curriculum that prioritizes efficacy with little or no emphasis on caregiving. The end results are medical professionals with little or no understanding of the social and cultural needs of their patients.
Humanities and arts comprise a diverse range of topics, from history, literature, music, art, philosophy to ethics, all which seek to understand human behavior. Studying humanities helps medical professionals understand the social and human side of health care. In the past few years, a substantial number of institutions in the United States integrated different health care related courses. Baylor University in Texas was among the first to incorporate humanities in their medical programs offering an undergraduate course in medical humanities. Recently, more institutions have seen the value of humanities in health care and the need to transform their medical programs to accommodate medical humanities.
Training medical students in arts and humanities help to improve communication skills, create cultural awareness, and arouse a sense of compassion. For instance, literature challenges doctors to view life from the patient’s perspective, which helps them develop an attachment and empathy towards them. This also allows doctors to understand different behaviors in patients as often seen in non-compliant patients.
According to DR. Pippa Hall, humanities also enable professionals in health care to better understand and appreciate the different cultural backgrounds of their patients. They can, therefore, adjust their health care delivery to cater to the needs of patients with different cultural and historical backgrounds.
Music and visual art also enhance clinical practice. Music, on the one hand, entails improving listening skills. In the past, physicians have arranged musical performances to their patients with the aim of enhancing the relations and fostering a smooth doctor-to-patient interaction. Through viewing works of art, clinicians develop a clear understanding and interpretation of the patient’s condition and mystery. Works of art also work by arousing curiosity among clinicians, which enhances an interactive relationship with the patient.
Lastly, anthropology and history help medical students understand the diversity, gradual development, and experience among humans from ancient times to date. This, in turn, prompts physicians to reflect on their own values and transform how they view different aspects of humanity.
The value of humanities and arts in health care cannot be ignored. The main goal of teaching humanities is to promote a patient-oriented approach and achieve an efficient health care system that integrates the social and cultural needs of society. Humanities act as lenses through which health care professionals can view and understand the needs of their patients.

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