In love with medical humanities! A survey on medical students' opinions and satisfaction with an integrated elective course.

Abstract

Introduction: Internationally, the teaching of medical humanities (MH) in medical schools is often limited to elective courses. It is therefore important to understand students' views in order to increase their participation in these courses. Three elective courses in medical humanities have been activated at the University of L'Aquila, which constitute a single educational pathway for medical students: a course in Visual thinking strategies, a course in Narrative medicine and a course in Reflective practices. This study aims to investigate medical students' opinions and satisfaction with these three medical humanities courses.

Materials and methods: We administered a questionnaire to all medical students who took a medical humanities course in the academic year 2023-2024 at the University of L'Aquila. The questionnaire aimed to assess students' opinions on the content and usefulness of the course and to gather suggestions for improving it. The data collected were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, by using various qualitative analysis techniques.

Results: Thirty-eight students took an MH course during the selected academic year and were recruited for the survey. The survey revealed higher course participation among female students. The courses proved to be important opportunities for students to compare themselves with their colleagues. The students were very satisfied with the three courses (especially the VTS and RP courses), considering them useful for their personal, professional and social growth. They reported improving their observational, reasoning and communication skills (VTS course), developing an empathic attitude towards patients (VTS and NM courses), and learning to work in groups (RP course). They appreciated more workshops than theoretical lectures and suggested increasing the chances to practice what they learnt, also in real life.

Conclusions: Although some aspects can still be improved, medical humanities courses have been very successful among medical students due to their educational and social value.