Παρουσίαση/Προβολή

(54800) -  ANDREAS C. LAZARIS

Περιγραφή Μαθήματος

Medicine is not only a scientific discipline. The quality of medical care also depends on how physicians understand people, communicate with them, respond to suffering, and make ethical decisions. Our attitudes, values, and ways of interacting with others are shaped largely by experiences within the family, society, and educational environment. Therefore, by the time students enter medical school, many aspects of their personality and worldview have already been established. Medical education must nevertheless provide opportunities for the continued development of empathy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and ethical awareness.

 

This need has become particularly important in an increasingly digital society. Excessive reliance on technology and screen-based communication may contribute to isolation, individualism, passivity, emotional detachment, and superficial attention. Frequent exposure to fragmented information may also make sustained concentration and meaningful face-to-face communication more difficult. When individuals become increasingly isolated within themselves, two problematic patterns may become more pronounced. The first is rigidity of thought, characterized by an inability or unwillingness to consider alternative perspectives and reconsider one's own views. The second is emotional and moral callousness, reflected in an inability to be genuinely affected by the suffering of others and a diminished concern for the wider society. Among healthcare professionals, emotional shallowness and reduced empathy may compromise the quality of the physician–patient relationship. In medicine, this can have serious consequences: when empathy is absent or inadequately expressed, patients may lose trust in their physicians, potentially reducing treatment adherence and adversely affecting clinical outcomes.

 

Medical humanities provide an important means of addressing these challenges. They draw on literature, philosophy, theology, sociology, the visual arts, music, theatre, cinema, and other cultural forms to cultivate abilities that complement biomedical knowledge. Their purpose is not to replace scientific medicine, but to help future physicians perceive patients as whole persons, rather than merely as diseases or diagnoses. Through engagement with the humanities, students can develop clinical observation, empathy, ethical reasoning, critical reflection, and greater awareness of their own personal and social biases.

 

 

This course therefore emphasizes experience rather than theory or moralizing. Students are encouraged to engage with humanistic stimuli, discuss them with others, reflect on their meaning, and consider practical ways of applying their insights to their own lives and communication. Three important prerequisites underpin this process: openness to new stimuli, sufficient time and attention, and reflection followed by practical decision-making. The course addresses major themes including the value of human life, illness, professional medical identity, the physician–patient relationship, and death. Through interactive discussions and selected works from the humanities, students are encouraged to develop teamwork, decision-making, critical thinking, ethical responsibility, respect for diversity, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

 

Several educational approaches are particularly important. Narrative medicine draws on literature, poetry, autobiographical narratives, creative writing, and reflective writing to help students understand illness from the patient's lived perspective. Visual Thinking Strategies use works of art to strengthen observation, interpretation, diagnostic reasoning, and tolerance of uncertainty. Reflective practice enables students to examine their emotions, implicit biases, professional responsibilities, and ethical dilemmas, thereby fostering self-awareness, resilience, and protection against burnout. Arts-based learning, including theatre, film, drama, and observational drawing, explores non-verbal communication, embodiment, interpersonal relationships, professional identity, end-of-life care, and medical paternalism. Finally, structural competency helps students understand how social, historical, economic, institutional, and political factors—including racism, disability, gender, inequality, and public policy—can influence illness and contribute to healthcare disparities.

 

Ultimately, medical humanities seek to educate physicians who combine scientific competence with empathy, ethical responsibility, careful observation, effective communication, self-awareness, and respect for human dignity. A good physician must understand not only what disease the patient has, but also who the patient is and what it means for that person to be ill.

 

Upon completion of each Fall Semester, assessment for the January examination period may be completed by choosing one of the following options:

1. Submission of answers to five exercises selected by the student from the question bank ("Exercises") available under the "Active Tools" section of the course portfolio. Students must also notify the course Secretariat (Ms. Maria Giannari, M.Ed.: mgiannari@med.uoa.gr) in a timely manner of the exercises they have selected.

2. Creation and posting of four posts, with technical support from the Secretary, containing content related to the course stimuli, up to 400 words each, on the "Blog" of the course's electronic portfolio.

3. Submission of a written assignment of approximately 1,500 words. The assignment should focus on a topic freely chosen by the student and related to an aspect of the course subject matter. The selected topic may be based on material covered in one or more lessons or course activities, or on content available in the "Active Tools" section of the course portfolio. However, students should not directly address the specific questions included in the exercise bank.

For the September retake examination period, the only assessment option available is the timely submission of a written assignment.

Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας

Κυριακή 6 Σεπτεμβρίου 2026