Life, Death, and Humanity in Veterinary Medicine: Is it Time to Embrace the Humanities in Veterinary Education?
Abstract: Medical humanities is a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary field of study that has experienced explosive growth in the United States since the 1960s. Two key components of medical humanities include first, the use of literature, poetry, and visual arts in the education of medical students, and second, the representation or examination of medical culture by scholars in the humanities, arts, and social sciences such as literary and film creators, sociologists, and anthropologists. The American Association of Medical Colleges recently reported that as of 2018, approximately 94% of medical schools had core or elective humanities offerings in their curricula. The examination of the medical milieu by scholars across the humanities has resulted in the emergence of important specialty fields such as end-of-life care, disability studies, and health disparities research. Veterinary medicine has been slow to embrace the humanities as relevant to our profession and to the education of our students. Only sporadic, isolated attempts to document the value of the arts and humanities can be found in the veterinary literature, and valuable observations on our profession made by scholars in diverse disciplines of the humanities are largely buried in publications not often accessed by veterinarians. Here a case is made that the time is right for the emergence of a more cohesive field of veterinary humanities. Embracing the observations of humanities scholars who engage with our profession, and appreciating the ways in which the humanities themselves are effective tools in the education of veterinary professionals, will bring many benefits to our evolving profession.
Publication Date: 2023-01-13 PubMed ID: 36626246DOI: 10.3138/jvme-2022-0118Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article discusses the importance and need of incorporating humanities into veterinary education, a method already prevalent in medical education. The study encourages a more cohesive and integrative approach towards adopting humanities to cultivate well-rounded professionals in veterinary medicine.
Background
- The research article addresses the multidisciplinary field of medical humanities, which includes aspects like literature, poetry, and visual arts in medical education, along with examining medical culture from a humanities perspective. This way of teaching has shown significant growth since the 1960s.
- The American Association of Medical Colleges reported that about 94% of medical schools had adopted humanities in their educational structure by 2018. This has contributed to the growth of various specialty fields within medicine, such as end-of-life care, disability studies, and other health disparity research.
- However, despite these advancements in medical education, veterinary medicine has shown slow progress in incorporating humanities into its educational paradigm.
The Case for Veterinary Humanities
- The research argues for a stronger need of including the study of humanities in veterinary education. This integration is already present in medical education with proven benefits, but it remains sporadic and rarely documented in veterinary medicine.
- The insights and observations of humanity scholars could provide a broader perspective and critical thinking in veterinary professionals. The practical application of humanities within veterinary education can not only help enhance the professional skills of veterinary students but also bring overlooked facets of the profession into the light.
- Additionally, research and observations made by scholars within the humanity fields, which are relevant to veterinary practice, are often ignored or undervalued, usually due to lack of exposure or unawareness in the veterinary community.
Potential Benefits
- By embracing veterinary humanities, the profession could experience significant benefits in terms of cultivating empathy, improving communication skills, promoting stress management, and enhancing ethical understanding among practitioners.
- The study highlights that a well-rounded understanding and approach in veterinary education that includes humanities can offer more comprehensive and holistic solutions within the field, equipping the professionals to better deal with the complexity and array of challenges they may face in their profession.
The research concludes by emphasizing the importance and timely need of a more integrated and comprehensive approach towards veterinary humanities, arguing for its potential to significantly contribute to veterinary education and the profession overall.
Cite This Article
APA
Brosnahan MM.
(2023).
Life, Death, and Humanity in Veterinary Medicine: Is it Time to Embrace the Humanities in Veterinary Education?
J Vet Med Educ, e20220118.
https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2022-0118 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Medicine in Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine, 19555 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85308 USA.
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