Associate Librarian for the Health Sciences
Introduction to the Medical/Health Humanities
- Why We Need the Humanities to Improve Health CareEXCERPT:
Telling stories, listening to music, making and enjoying art — these are human endeavors that effect our emotion and our spirit. These are also the elements we need to see more of in our health care system as it becomes increasingly mechanized. - What Is Medical Humanities and Why?EXCERPT:
"Medical humanities"... Taken literally, the two words have about the same level of specificity as would "medical sciences," which includes everything from biochemistry to pathology. No wonder our scientific colleagues press us to give a more precise definition... - Health humanities: we are here to collaborate, not to competeEXCERPT:
Some people see the threat of creative destruction almost everywhere, but the fact is that health humanities is not intended to destroy anything. Quite the contrary. It’s merely a reflection of the truism that times change and an acknowledgment that we, as academics, have to change with them.
Selected Readings
Narrative Medicine by Call Number: RA427.8Publication Date: 2015The book covers the genesis of the medical humanities and of narrative medicine and explores all aspects of their role in improving healthcare.
Mindful Medical Practice by Publication Date: 2015This book is about being mindful in clinical practice and how mindfulness enhances the quality of patient care while adding depth and meaning to a clinicians' work.
Health Humanities by Call Number: R723.C73 2015Publication Date: 2015This is the first manifesto for Health Humanities worldwide. It sets out the context for this emergent and innovative field which extends beyond Medical Humanities to advance the inclusion and impact of the arts and humanities in healthcare, health and well-being.
The Chief Concern of Medicine by Call Number: R727.3.S35 2013Publication Date: 2013The Chief Concern of Medicine brings to the examination of medical practices a thorough---and clearly articulated---exposition of the nature of narrative.
Illness as Narrative by Call Number: PS228.D57J87 2012Publication Date: 2012Discusses: What is the role of criticism in relation to personal accounts of suffering? Can these narratives be judged on aesthetic grounds? Are they a collective expression of the lost intimacy of the patient-doctor relationship?
- More like thisClick the "More like this" link to find additional e-books in LionSearch.
Selected Journals
- Medical HumanitiesA leading international journal covering the medical humanities.
- Journal of Medical HumanitiesCovers the medical humanities and medical education.
- Literature and MedicineExplores representational and cultural practices concerning health care and the body.
- Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHMEncompasses all aspects of the philosophy of medicine and ethical aspects of clinical practice and research.
Multidisciplinary Databases
- Academic Search Complete (Ebsco) This link opens in a new windowCovers the Humanities and Healthcare areas.
Health Related Databases
- CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health) This link opens in a new windowPrimary database for nursing.
The Medical Humanities at Penn State
- Penn State College of Medicine HumanitiesHumanities Department in the College of Medicine at Penn State
- Wild OnionsWild Onions is an annual publication funded by the Department of Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine.
Most entries pertain to some dimension of medicine (for example, the experiences, observations and reflections of patients, nurses, physicians, medical students, family members, hospital staff, volunteers, visitors, etc.). - The Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic MedicinePenn State research center focusing on humanities and medicine.
- Graphic MedicineSeries of graphic novels related to medicine from the Penn State University Press.