Abstract
This chapter addresses how engaging with Shakespeare’s plays can develop medical students’ empathy. At present the medical undergraduate curriculum is dominated by the biomedical sciences. The inclusion of the humanities enhances creativity and curiosity in empathic relationships. The chapter discusses interventions to enhance empathy through drama: play reading, drama module, role play, role modelling, and storytelling. Drama plays an important role in cultivating well-being and stimulating clinical curiosity. The chapter concludes by arguing for the integration of humanities into medical education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson, M., & Dunn, J. (2013). How drama activates learning. Bloomsbury.
Batson, C. D. (2002). Empathy attitude and action: Can feeling for a member of a stigmatized group motivate action to help the group. Personality Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1658–1661.
Batt-Rawden, S., Chisolm, M. S., Anton, B., & Flickinger, T. E. (2013). Teaching empathy to medical students: An updated, systematic review. Academic Medicine, 88(8), 1171–1177.
Bleakley, A., Marshall, R., & Bromer, R. (2006). Towards an aesthetic medicine: Developing a core medical humanities undergraduate curriculum. Journal of Medical Humanities, 7, 197–213.
Case, G. A., & Brauner, D. (2010). The doctor as performer: A proposal for change based on a performance studies paradigm. Academic Medicine, 85, 159–163.
Charon, R. (2001). Narrative medicine—A model for empathy, reflection, profession, and trust. JAMA, 286(15), 1897–1902.
Chiavaroli, N. (2017). Knowing how we know: An epistemological rationale for the medical humanities. Medical Education, 51, 13–21.
Heinrich, P. (2018). When role play comes alive: A theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Howick, J., Zhao, L., McKaig, B., et al. (2022). Do medical schools teach medical humanities? Review of curricula in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 28, 86–92.
Jeffrey, D. (2002). Teaching palliative care: A practical guide. Radcliffe Medical Press.
Jeffrey, E., & Jeffrey, D. (2013). Enhancing compassion in end-of-life care through drama: The silent treatment. Radcliffe Publishing.
Jeffrey, E. J., Goddard, J., & Jeffrey, D. (2012). Performance and palliative care: A drama module for medical students. Medical Humanities, 38, 110–114.
Kohn, M. (2011). Performing medicine: The role of theatre in medical education. Medical Humanities, 37, 3–4.
Kumagai, A. K. (2017). Beyond “Dr feel-good”: A role for the humanities in medical education. Academic Medicine, 92, 1659–1660.
Levy, J. (1997). Theatre and moral education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 31, 65–75.
Macnaughton, J. (2000). The humanities in medical education: Context, outcomes and structures. Medical Humanities, 26, 23–30.
Macneill, P. U. (2011). The arts and medicine: A challenging relationship. Medical Humanities, 37, 85–90.
Magsamen, S., & Ross, I. (2023). Your brain as art. Edinburgh.
Mangione, S., Chakraborti, C., Staltari, G., et al. (2018). Students’ exposure to humanities correlates with positive personal qualities and reduced burnout: A multi-institutional US survey. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33, 628–634.
Mohan, I. (2023). Role of humanities in modern medical education. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36, 347–351.
Moniz, T., Golafshani, M., Gasper, C. M., et al. (2021). The prism model for integrating the arts and humanities into medical education. Academic Media, 96, 1225.
Morrison, A. (2023). Narrative and its discontents. MED Humanit, 49, 497–499.
Nussbaum, M. C. (2003). Upheavals of thought: The intelligence of emotions. Cambridge University Press.
Pellegrino, E. D. (2008). The philosophy of medicine reborn. University of Notre Dame Press.
Shapiro, J. (2008). Walking a mile in their patients’ shoes: Empathy and othering in medical students’ education. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 3, 10–21.
Shapiro, J., Coulehan, J., Wear, D., & Montello, M. (2009). Medical humanities and their discontents: Definitions, critiques, and implications. Academic Medicine, 84(2), 192–198.
Shapiro, J., & Hunt, L. (2003). All the world’s a stage: The use of theatrical performance in medical education. Medical Education, 37(10), 922–927.
Spicer, J., Harrison, D., & Winning, J. (2013). The humanities in medical education. In K. Walsh (Ed.), Oxford textbook of medical education. Oxford University Press.
Stepien, K. A., & Baernstein, A. (2006). Educating for empathy—A review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(5), 524–530.
Thacker, N., Wallis, J., & Winning, J. (2022). ‘Capable of being in uncertainties’: Applied medical humanities in undergraduate medical education. Journal of Medical Humanities, 48, 325–334.
Viney, W., Callard, F., & Woods, A. (2015). Critical medical humanities: Embracing entanglement, taking risks. Journal of Medical Humanities, 41, 2–7.
Wald, H. S., McFarland, J., & Markovina, I. (2019). Medical humanities in medical education and practice. Medical Teacher, 41, 492–496.
Whitehead, W. A. (2016). The Edinburgh companion to the critical medical humanities. Edinburgh University Press.
Woolliscroft, J. O., & Phillips, R. (2003). Medicine as a performing art: A worthy metaphor. Medical Education, 37, 934–939.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jeffrey, D.I. (2024). Shakespeare in Medical Education. In: How Shakespeare Inspires Empathy in Clinical Care. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58661-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58661-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-58660-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-58661-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)