Medical humanities: An e-module at the university of Manchester

The importance of humanities in the medical curriculum is increasingly recognized. For example, in the United Kingdom, The General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent body established under the Medical Act 1858 and responsible, among other things, for fostering good medical practice and promoting high standards of medical education, in its publication Tomorrows Doctors, encouraged inclusion of humanities in the medical curriculum. Literature, arts, poetry, and philosophy are thought to foster the doctors ability to communicate with patients, to penetrate more deeply into the patients wider narrative, and to seek more diverse ways of promoting well being and reducing the impact of illness or disability. The Institute of Medical Ethics,3 as well as several other organizations including the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities,4 has also fostered the incorporation of literature and arts in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Copyright © 2010 Cambridge University Press.