Abstract:

As medical education continues to evolve globally, the integration of health humanities and humanism has also emerged as a pivotal means for supporting the cultivation of compassionate healthcare practitioners worldwide, including in China. Announced in 2017, the Healthy China 2030 project aims to increase the physician workforce and enhance public satisfaction with the medical profession, through reforms that include ongoing expansion and growth of the medical humanities. Although, historically, Chinese medical students have had minimal liberal arts or humanities-based teaching, and limited patient and clinical exposure, there have been increasing calls for introducing health humanities teaching and learning in medical education to help enhance the humanistic spirit, as well as the technical competence, of students to improve healthcare in China.

This paper outlines elements that have been introduced to foster humanistic patient care as part of the Alberta Institute Wenzhou Medical University (AIWMU), a blended (virtual, in-person) cooperative transnational medical education program developed by the University of Alberta in Canada and Wenzhou Medical University in China. In addition, a live, synchronous, online 8-session “Introduction to Health Humanities” course, included in Phase 1 (YR1-2) of the AIWMU program, is described in relation to curriculum content and pedagogical approaches, including integration of “assessment for learning”. The course focuses on the centrality of narratives and stories in medicine which is reflected in the field of health humanities. Different sessions focus on literature, theatre, art, and other forms of expression and ways in which these offer valuable insights into the personal, emotional, and social dimensions of health and illness and the complexities of healthcare practices, to foster a deeper appreciation for the humanistic aspects of medicine. Consideration is given to intercultural nuances, students' perspectives regarding patient-centered care and concerns related to healthcare disparities, as well as perceived benefits of the course, and feedback regarding suggested curricular changes. Reflections regarding the overall experience of developing an introductory health humanities course as part of an international medical education program are also shared.

Across the world, efforts to integrate interdisciplinary health humanities teaching and learning in medical education have aimed to enrich the educational experience and cultivate compassionate, effective practitioners who are sensitive and responsive to patients' experiences of illness and suffering. Set within the context of a transnational medical education program in China, this paper contributes to the ongoing dialogue regarding the health humanities in medical education, offering beneficial insights for medical educators, institutions, and policymakers seeking to enhance the humanistic dimensions of medical training in diverse cultural settings. The inclusion of health humanities teaching and learning within the transnational AIWMU medical education program underscores the importance of acknowledging and learning from diverse narratives and perspectives.

Keywords:

Medical education, International partnership, Transnational medical education, Curricular and pedagogical innovation, Technology integration, ESL.