The Humanities and Medicine

No matter how much physicians try to resist the notion, a lot of medicine has an algorithmic, cookbook, or heuristic nature. I am one of the people that really dislikes this notion. We wish to think the art of medicine magical, that our years of training, nights poring over books, experiences seeing thousands of patients, and Socratic method teaching imparts on us some wisdom that allows us to lay hands on a patient and diagnose. But the truth is, rapidly improving technologies, faster computational algorithms, advances in machine learning, and the complexity of human wellness and disease mean that computers have begun to challenge even the most experienced and well-respected physicians. Physicians dislike patients who come to appointments carrying printouts from Google searches of their symptoms, but we cannot deny that often, our clinical expertise can be matched by technology.

That being said, I still believe the art of medicine is an art that challenges the humanity within us. It's probably evident from this blog, but I strongly feel that the humanities are integral to medicine. Emotions, stories, artwork, reflection, discussion, and debate challenge us to hone those skills of taking care of a person. A computer may make the diagnosis, but a physician broaches the delivery of that diagnosis, cultivates that relationship of trust necessary for compassionate care. We don't respect that skill set enough. It is not easy to go to work every day and care for people who hurt themselves, are going to die, cry on your shoulder, feel terrified, or distrust the health care system. The humanities, with respect to medicine, are about understanding how humans experience illness and disease and placing that within a context of diagnosis, treatment, and care.