Le Medical Humanities nelle scuole di medicina italiane: come definirle?

Although “Medical Humanities” is a term widely used in the field of medical education, its definition is still largely discussed. AIM. Thus, the aim of this study was taking a set of narratives from which qualitatively turn out the representation of Medical Humanities in order to better deepen its definition. PARTICIPANTS. This study enrolled 66 subjects in total (43 Presidents of the Degree Courses in Medicine and Surgery and 23 students in the first year of the International Medical School of the University of Milan-Bicocca). METHOD. Participants were asked to answer an open question: “How would you define the Medical Humanities?”. RESULTS. A total of 7 conceptual units emerged from the narratives of the participants: “Humanistic Discipline”, “Doctor-Patient Relationship”, “Multidisciplinary Approach”, “Holistic Approach”, “Patient as a Person”, “Knowing How to Be a Doctor” and “Effectiveness of Care”. CONCLUSIONS. The representation of Medical Humanities that emerged from the narratives of the participants has mainly focused on the effects that this discipline produces: 1) improvement of communication and relational abilities and 2) as a resource for enhancing the healthcare professionals’ wellbeing. The interdisciplinary nature attributed to the Medical Humanities leads to a problem in identifying its right place within the medical school program.