Abstract
Over the course of medical school, students’ optimism and hopefulness often devolve into a cynical view of medicine that continues throughout clinical rotations and beyond (Neumann et al., Acad Med 86(8):996–1009, 2011). Here, we present a qualitative evaluation of a novel immersive elective in pediatric psycho-oncology coupled with narrative medicine and its impact on students. Participants were third- and fourth-year medical students who were relieved of traditional clinical duties. Alternatively, they shadowed pediatric cancer patients, keeping narrative journals of their observations and insights. A trained team of pre-clinical medical students and faculty conducted a retrospective analysis of 120 journals written between 2008 and 2019. They compared recurring concepts to assess how blending experiential learning and reflective writing influenced the attitudes and behaviors of students. Consistent themes emerged related to developing a rich understanding of patient experiences, a humanistic appreciation of the context of illness, the ability to meaningfully reflect on insights to critically ill children, and an appreciation for the unique learning opportunity. Additionally, families expressed gratitude for the students’ attentiveness to their emotional needs. By the conclusion of the elective, most students discovered that they had reignited their intrinsic empathic behaviors and were provided with beneficial insights that they believed would continue into future rotations. Experiential teaching methods paired with narrative reflection may be a valuable and therapeutic tool to learn the intricacies of the patient perspective, with the potential to enhance humanism in students during a critical time in their medical training when empathy tends to drift. Longitudinal and quantitative studies are warranted to better understand the degree and duration of specific benefits.
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Data Availability
The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author, F. Jeffrey Lorenz, upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all of the medical students who participated in this elective between 2008 and 2019, whose participation helped in the effort to restore humanism in medicine. We are also grateful for the patients and families who permitted students to shadow them and get to know them on a more personal level during exceptionally challenging times.
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Andrew Freiberg prepared the journals for analysis by removing demographic information and scrambling the order. Cheryl Dellasega trained the student researchers in qualitative methodology, with input from Andrew Freiberg. F. Jeffrey Lorenz, Matthew Darok, Lisa Ho, and Maria Holstrom-Mercader coded journals and analyzed themes under the direction of Cheryl Dellasega. F. Jeffrey Lorenz wrote the manuscript, with revisions from Andrew Freiberg and Cheryl Dellasega. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The Penn State Institutional Review Board reviewed and approved STUDY00014173 as exempt according to institutional policies and the provisions of applicable federal regulations, and the need for informed consent was waived. The study was carried out following relevant guidelines and regulations.
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Lorenz, F.J., Darok, M.C., Ho, L. et al. The Impact of an Unconventional Elective in Narrative Medicine and Pediatric Psycho-oncology on Humanism in Medical Students. J Canc Educ 37, 1798–1805 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02029-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02029-8