Integrating humanities curricula in medical education: a needs assessment

Background: Medicine’s increasing technologic complexities can constrain medical learners’ development of patientcentered communication skills, which can adversely impact patient outcomes. Although humanities-based clinical education interventions encourage reflective practice and promote the practice of holistic patient care, it remains unclear which educational interventions are the most effective. Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed, utilising the terms ‘humanities’, ‘humanism’, ‘art’, ‘medicine’, ‘narrative medicine’, and ‘medical education’ to identify relevant English-language articles. Discussion with experts yielded further titles, such that 156 articles were reviewed and summarised, with particular focus on those describing novel curricular interventions. Results: 108/156 (69%) of the articles were commentaries or reflective papers; 48/156 (31%) reported on curricular interventions. Of the latter, the majority incorporated literature or ethics, typically delivered in small-group format. Only ten interventions included impact assessment measures beyond learner satisfaction. Five of these used qualitative evaluations, three used quantitative scales, and two used both. Discussion: Humanities-based curricular interventions with a focus on literature or ethics were more common than those involving the visual or performing arts. Among the studies that evaluated these curricular interventions, the majority employed qualitative measures. Collaborative teaching between clinicians, arts educators and patients may be considered in order to bridge the gap between science and humanities.