Abstracts
Abstract
Background: The contributions of arts and humanities to medical education are known in the medical education community, but medical schools’ offerings vary. The Companion Curriculum (CC) is a student-curated set of optional humanities content for medical students at the University of Toronto. This study evaluates integration of the CC to identify key enabling conditions for medical humanities engagement.
Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation gauged usage and perceptions of integration of the CC among medical students using an online survey and focus groups. Narrative data underwent thematic analysis, supported by summary statistics of quantitative data.
Results: Half of survey respondents were aware of the CC (n = 67/130; 52%), and, once prompted with a description, 14% had discussed it in their tutorial groups. Of students using the CC, 80% reported learning something new regarding their roles as communicators and health advocates. Themes were the perceived value of the humanities, internal student barriers, institutional neglect of the humanities, and student critiques and recommendations.
Conclusion: Despite participants’ interest in medical humanities, our CC remains underused. To improve humanities’ visibility in the MD curriculum, our results indicate that greater institutional support, including faculty development and early curricular integration, is required. Further study should explore reasons for gaps between interest and participation.
Résumé
Contexte : L’apport des arts et des sciences humaines à la formation médicale est bien connu du milieu de l’enseignement médical, mais l’offre des programmes à cet égard varie d’une faculté à l’autre. Le Companion curriculum (CC) est un recueil de contenu facultatif en sciences humaines, préparé par des étudiants et destiné aux étudiants en médecine de l’Université de Toronto. En évaluant l’intégration du CC au programme de formation, cette étude vise à dégager les principales conditions propices à un engagement en faveur des humanités médicales.
Méthodes : Une évaluation à méthodes mixtes, à l’aide d’un sondage en ligne et de groupes de discussion, a permis de mesurer l’utilisation du CC par les étudiants en médecine et leur perception quant à l’intégration de cet outil. Les données narratives ont fait l’objet d’une analyse thématique, étayée par des statistiques sommaires de données quantitatives.
Résultats : La moitié des répondants au sondage connaissaient le CC (n=67/130 ; 52%) et, une fois qu’on le leur a décrit, 14 % en avaient discuté dans leurs groupes de tutorat. Parmi les étudiants qui l’avaient utilisé, 80 % ont déclaré avoir appris quelque chose de nouveau concernant leurs rôles de communicateur et de promoteur de la santé. Les thèmes abordés étaient la valeur perçue des sciences humaines, les réserves des étudiants, le manque d’intérêt envers les sciences humaines au sein des établissements d’enseignement médical, ainsi que les critiques et les recommandations formulées par les étudiants.
Conclusion : Malgré l’intérêt des participants pour les humanités médicales, notre CC demeure sous-utilisé. Nos résultats indiquent que le renforcement de la visibilité des sciences humaines dans le programme d’études médicales nécessite plus de soutien de la part des établissements, y compris par une formation des enseignants et par l’intégration des sciences humaines tôt dans le cursus du programme. Une étude plus approfondie permettrait d’explorer les raisons de l’écart entre l’intérêt et la participation.
Appendices
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