Required Courses:
Health and the Human Spirit

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Course Description:

The Health and Human Spirit Program is a unique teaching module incorporated into required third-year clinical rotations.  Its goal is to increase medical student awareness necessary to care of the whole patient.  Directed by McGovern Center faculty member Rabbi Samuel Karff, the program enlists case studies, videotaped exams of standardized patient actors, role-playing activities, individual and group reflection activities, and other innovative teaching techniques to help students appreciate the many cultural, spiritual, and ethical dimensions embedded in each patient encounter.

The third year of medical school represents a significant transitional year in training of future physicians; students move forward in their training from an emphasis on basic science coursework to patient care at the bedside.  First introduced in 2001, the Health and Human Spirit Program now provides learning experiences for four of the Medical School's six third-year clinical rotations; Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and Surgery.

Working closely with the rotation's clinical director, McGovern Center faculty help students explore care from multiple perspectives tailored to the unique nature of each clinical rotation.  For example, during the internal medicine rotation, students explore compassionate and responsible techniques for breaking bad news to patients and families.  They write and reflect on cases from the patients point of view, enhancing empathy and strengthening their capacity to care. 

Case studies developed and used to facilitate learning and discussion provide complex and real life scenarios that explore culture differences. During the surgery rotation, for example,  one such case involves a Buddhist patient whose family disagrees with the surgeons plan for surgical intervention.  Another case during the surgery rotation allows the students to explore the complex and sensitive issues behind a patient's personal decision to refuse surgery for a life-threatening condition.

These examples provide a small snapshot of what has become a popular and important dimension of the Medical School's third-year clinical training.  One of a number of course offerings through the McGovern Center, the Health and the Human Spirit Program represents an innovative approach to helping students  understand and experience both the art and the science of patient care during a critical transition year of their medical school training.