Special Programs: The humanities and narrative medicine in medical school.

As part of my special programs series, I highlight a medical school program that is creating novel educational curriculum. Today’s spotlight is on: The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.

Dell Medical School created an educational model it named the Leading EDGE (Essentials, Delivery, Growth, and Exploration) curriculum which is a curriculum based on gathering knowledge from the arts, patients, and the communities across the 4 years of medical school.

They have added a new dual-degree master’s program in humanities, health, and medicine in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts with the goal of bringing this humanistic framework to caring for patients and addressing the challenges in the health system.

The degree would be pursued during the third year of medical school - a unique “Growth year” where students are granted a nine-month “Innovation, Leadership and Discovery” block to pursue an inquiry project or dual degree. The medical school currently has 8 dual degree options including the new Master of Arts in Humanities, Health, and Medicine.

The other degrees available include Master of Arts in Design, Masters of Business Administration, Master of Education, Master of Public Affairs, Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, and a Master of Science in Health Care Transformation.

Don’t really understand what narrative medicine is? Read this blog post on why narrative medicine matters.