Healthcare Delivery and Society

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The history of medical humanities is a blueprint showing the advancement of civilization. Many people dismiss the study of medical humanities in medical education, whether at the premedical, medical school, or postgraduate level. This paper provides evidence the study of medical humanities benefits society as a whole with the understanding of scientific exploration, professionalism, and cultural competence. Humanities: How does one define the study of humanities? Stanford University a leading research institutions describes, “The humanities is the study of the myriad ways in which people, from every period of history and from every corner of the globe, process and document the human experience” (Human experience, 2014). By gaining insights into our world, through exploration of the humanities we learn how to become critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, and formulate hypothesis to develop research methods, which helps us understand our world. Further investigation into humanities relating to history helps us understand past civilizations and direct us towards a better future. Unlike scientists, humanists are interested in raising questions, rather than providing absolute answers (Human experience, 2014a). Medical Humanities: The study of humanities provides knowledge gained by a sense of belonging, a link to those who have preceded us, as well as our contemporaries in society. Humanities provide an endless array of subjects to investigate. For example, one can further explore humanistic knowledge in specific disciplines such as medical humanities. In the literature review, “Humanities in Undergraduate Medical Education” the authors proclaims, “Humanities form an integral part of undergraduate medical curricu... ... middle of paper ... ...efinition a “Quasi-governmental health agencies receive funding from both public and private sources, and carry out functions expected of government agencies without government supervision (WordPress, 2010). War, natural disasters, famine, drought are worldwide problems that create needs for culturally competent, empathic, and ethical persons. To be effective in achieving their goals, “Health care providers recognize the need to learn about religions and cultures and the need to incorporate cultural assessment in the process of patient teaching. Clinicians provide culturally relevant care by understanding the cultural context of the patient and family, using culturally sensitive strategies to meet mutual goals, and integrating appropriate community resources (Garity, 2000). These personal characteristics are developed from a strong understanding of the humanities.

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