Medical Humanities – the ‘Fribourg model’
Our teaching program in Medical Humanities is unique in Europe: it has been exclusively designed for medical students, and it is obligatory for anyone studying medicine in Fribourg. It runs for the whole period of both BA and MA: beginning with bi-lingual, interactive BA classes it culminates in the possibility of writing a Master Thesis in Medical Humanities. The program consists of courses in both the humanities and social sciences, all bearing on medicine: ethics, history, anthropology, literary studies, economics and law. These courses develop perspectives on medical practice and medicine in general - thereby remaining close to medical reality since a large proportion of the teaching team is double-qualified as both humanists and physicians. Furthermore, many courses are co-taught with clinicians. This double perspective is fundamental to the doctor’s role: medicine is not merely scientific knowledge combined with clinical skills, but primarily interaction between human individuals. As a result, doctors must be cognitively and emotionally competent in many different roles, as codified by the Swiss Catalogue of Teaching Aims (Lernzielkatalog (SLCO): communicators, managers, colleagues, technical operators, medical experts, scientists and pastoral companions. These roles are hugely demanding: doctors must be flexible, self-critical and have a profound understanding of how the complex space “medicine” works and how it has developed.
These cognitive skills cannot simply be committed to memory, and yet they are no less important than clinical knowledge for the living practice of medicine; medical students must grow into their profession as persons. One example from the programme: in an essay in reflective writing at the end of the third year, students describe experiences of illness both from the patient’s perspective and from the doctor’s – which are highly divergent. This task is thus a vital preparation for successful doctor-patient-communication. These essays are often very moving and demonstrate convincingly how much students gain from the integration of Medical Humanities into the whole medical curriculum.
Both our teaching program and a collection of the best essays can be downloaded by clicking the green buttons below.
