Medical Humanities in Resident Training: A Pilot Study of Specific Courses in a Large Comprehensive Hospital in China

Background: The importance of integrating humanities into medical education has been recognized. However, the medical humanities curriculum is usually lacking during standardized training for residents in China. This study aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of pilot-specific courses in medical humanities in standardized residency training.

Methods: We designed specific courses in medical humanities, composed of 3 courses: Identifying and Managing Common Psychological Disorders of Patients, Patient-Clinician Communication, and Medical Dispute Cases Analysis and Resolution. The courses were scheduled monthly throughout the one semester, and a total of 118 residents participated in the curriculum. Participants completed the evaluation containing ethic-legal knowledge and humanistic competencies related to course content before and after the curriculum.

Results: Most participant residents had a bachelor's degree (85.6%) and were in the first year of standardized residency training (61.0%). Their disciplinary backgrounds are diverse, encompassing 18 different clinical medical specialties. The residents' average scores of postcourse self-assessments keep a steady increase in humanistic competencies compared with precourse average scores. All postcourse self-assessments showed significant improvement compared to precourse (P < .05), particularly in influential communication skills and diagnostic associations of processing ability.

Conclusion: The specific courses in medical humanities are feasible and effective in teaching residents in China. The pre-post course evaluation indicates that this humanities-based curriculum significantly improved residents' ethic-legal knowledge and humanistic competencies during standardized residency training.