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The Enduring Effects of Medical Humanities on Medical Students: Short- and Long-Term Impacts of 15 Years of Teaching a Medical Humanities Course in a Swedish Medical Degree Program.

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Title: The Enduring Effects of Medical Humanities on Medical Students: Short- and Long-Term Impacts of 15 Years of Teaching a Medical Humanities Course in a Swedish Medical Degree Program.
Authors: Bernhardsson, Katarina (AUTHOR), Mathieu, Christopher (AUTHOR), Tejera, Alexander (AUTHOR), Hagander, Lars (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Medical Humanities. Mar2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p85-104. 20p.
Subjects: Medical humanities, Medical education, Medical schools, Social influence, Qualitative research, Narration, Medical practice, Holistic medicine
Abstract: This article analyzes the immediate and long-term effects of medical humanities teaching at a Swedish medical degree program. The objectives, format, and core pedagogical ideas and practices of an elective course in medical humanities are presented, situating the learning experience in the wider context of medical humanities in the Nordics. We conducted a qualitative, thematic analysis of course evaluations amassed over 15 years and of open-ended responses in an alumni survey sent out in 2023. Using these two sources, we compare the students' immediate perception of medical humanities' contribution to their education with what they discern when looking back. The students report that medical humanities teaching advances an understanding and responsiveness to narratives and furthers an ability to balance the rational, bio-medical perspective with a more holistic empathetic view of patients and illness, providing a deeper and broader toolkit to work from in clinical practice. The students perceive that they have acquired a specific expertise, obtained training in perspective taking, and yielded personal growth and agency. The interpretative sensitivities and competencies reverberated in the alumni survey and were reported to influence subsequent clinical work. Our study suggests that the impact of medical humanities teaching is transferred to both occupational practice and personal life, and that the impact is long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Medical Humanities is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: The Enduring Effects of Medical Humanities on Medical Students: Short- and Long-Term Impacts of 15 Years of Teaching a Medical Humanities Course in a Swedish Medical Degree Program.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bernhardsson%2C+Katarina%22">Bernhardsson, Katarina</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mathieu%2C+Christopher%22">Mathieu, Christopher</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tejera%2C+Alexander%22">Tejera, Alexander</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hagander%2C+Lars%22">Hagander, Lars</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Medical+Humanities%22">Journal of Medical Humanities</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p85-104. 20p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+humanities%22">Medical humanities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+education%22">Medical education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+schools%22">Medical schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+influence%22">Social influence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Narration%22">Narration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+practice%22">Medical practice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Holistic+medicine%22">Holistic medicine</searchLink>
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  Data: This article analyzes the immediate and long-term effects of medical humanities teaching at a Swedish medical degree program. The objectives, format, and core pedagogical ideas and practices of an elective course in medical humanities are presented, situating the learning experience in the wider context of medical humanities in the Nordics. We conducted a qualitative, thematic analysis of course evaluations amassed over 15 years and of open-ended responses in an alumni survey sent out in 2023. Using these two sources, we compare the students' immediate perception of medical humanities' contribution to their education with what they discern when looking back. The students report that medical humanities teaching advances an understanding and responsiveness to narratives and furthers an ability to balance the rational, bio-medical perspective with a more holistic empathetic view of patients and illness, providing a deeper and broader toolkit to work from in clinical practice. The students perceive that they have acquired a specific expertise, obtained training in perspective taking, and yielded personal growth and agency. The interpretative sensitivities and competencies reverberated in the alumni survey and were reported to influence subsequent clinical work. Our study suggests that the impact of medical humanities teaching is transferred to both occupational practice and personal life, and that the impact is long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Medical Humanities is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=192593965
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        Value: 10.1007/s10912-025-09975-0
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        Text: English
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              Text: Mar2026
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