TY - JOUR
T1 - Library collaboration with medical humanities in an American Medical College in Qatar
AU - Birch, Sally
AU - Magid, Amani
AU - Weber, Alan
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The medical humanities, a cross-disciplinary field of practice and research that includes medicine, literature, art, history, philosophy, and sociology, is being increasingly incorporated into medical school curricula internationally. Medical humanities courses in Writing, Literature, Medical Ethics and History can teach physicians-intraining communication skills, doctor-patient relations, and medical ethics, as well as empathy and cross-cultural understanding. In addition to providing educational breadth and variety, the medical humanities can also play a practical role in teaching critical/ analytical skills. These skills are utilized in differential diagnosis and problem-based learning, as well as in developing written and oral communications. Communication skills are a required medical competency for passing medical board exams in the U.S., Canada, the UK and elsewhere. The medical library is an integral part of medical humanities training efforts. This contribution provides a case study of the Distributed eLibrary at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in Doha, and its collaboration with the Writing Program in the Premedical Program to teach and develop the medical humanities. Programs and initiatives of the DeLib library include: developing an information literacy course, course guides for specific courses, the 100 Classic Books Project, collection development of 'doctors' stories' related to the practice of medicine (including medically-oriented movies and TV programs), and workshops to teach the analytical and critical thinking skills that form the basis of humanistic approaches to knowledge. This paper outlines a 'best practices' approach to developing the medical humanities in collaboration among the medical library, faculty and administrative stakeholders.
AB - The medical humanities, a cross-disciplinary field of practice and research that includes medicine, literature, art, history, philosophy, and sociology, is being increasingly incorporated into medical school curricula internationally. Medical humanities courses in Writing, Literature, Medical Ethics and History can teach physicians-intraining communication skills, doctor-patient relations, and medical ethics, as well as empathy and cross-cultural understanding. In addition to providing educational breadth and variety, the medical humanities can also play a practical role in teaching critical/ analytical skills. These skills are utilized in differential diagnosis and problem-based learning, as well as in developing written and oral communications. Communication skills are a required medical competency for passing medical board exams in the U.S., Canada, the UK and elsewhere. The medical library is an integral part of medical humanities training efforts. This contribution provides a case study of the Distributed eLibrary at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in Doha, and its collaboration with the Writing Program in the Premedical Program to teach and develop the medical humanities. Programs and initiatives of the DeLib library include: developing an information literacy course, course guides for specific courses, the 100 Classic Books Project, collection development of 'doctors' stories' related to the practice of medicine (including medically-oriented movies and TV programs), and workshops to teach the analytical and critical thinking skills that form the basis of humanistic approaches to knowledge. This paper outlines a 'best practices' approach to developing the medical humanities in collaboration among the medical library, faculty and administrative stakeholders.
KW - Medical Education-Humanities
KW - Medical Humanities
KW - Medical Libraries-Qatar
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U2 - 10.5001/omj.2013.113
DO - 10.5001/omj.2013.113
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84887378667
SN - 1999-768X
VL - 28
SP - 382
EP - 387
JO - Oman Medical Journal
JF - Oman Medical Journal
IS - 6
ER -