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Keywords: Video; Humanities; Education

Background: Incorporation of the humanities into medical school curricula remains a matter of some debate. In arguing against their inclusion, detractors will often point to the relative lack of rigorous longitudinal research supporting the notion that humanities exposure reliably leads to intended longterm improvements in key core competencies (empathy, nuanced history-taking, tolerance of ambiguity, etc.), or, perhaps more critically, to improvements in overall patient outcomes later in students’ careers. In response, while granting that longterm efficacy remains under question, humanities proponents will often point to research suggesting that humanities exposure does, in fact, lead to measurable short term improvements across these domains; this, they argue, suggests that the conversation ought to shift towards one that productively explores how humanities education might be further developed so as to generate more durable results. 

Within this context, pedagogical studies have identified small-group learning and guided reflection as potentially beneficial modalities. However, when made through the lens of media and marketing theory (audience segmentation, gratification, identity/shared identity, platform fit), a review of commonly utilized learning materials that serve as primary texts or reflective prompts (literature, visual artwork, patient narratives, etc) suggests that there exists a frequent misalignment between source (author identity, intended audience, preferred format, etc) and the medical student audience. More specifically, video-based humanities projects (generational platform fit) created by medical students (identity/shared identity), about their own experiences of illness, rooted in relevant clinical scenarios (gratification) and intended specifically for peer audiences (audience segmentation) remain comparatively underrepresented. Development of course materials filling this niche represents a plausible mechanism by which to increase content engagement, heighten resonance, and improve longterm impact.

Objectives: 1. Creation of humanities-centered instructional aid/prompting artifact in alignment with medical student audience across relevant domains (above). 2. Evaluation of short-term engagement and impact via focus group.

Design: Video; ~35 mins; narrative; first-person direct address from medical student narrator to medical student audience; compilation of short vignettes following a medical student patient over the course of treatment for a chronic pain condition serving as episodic illustrations of how skills commonly featured as medical humanities subject matter (empathy, narrative/history, ambiguity, ethical reasoning, professional identity and humility, etc.) played a decisive role in peer-as-patient care outcomes; recognizable clinical scenarios, utilizing vernacular featured in contemporary medical school curriculum.

Summary and Lessons Learned: (Project in early post-production. Initial lessons learned include: value of accurate assessment of required resources (including time, production technology/cost of procurement, production skillset and/or available learning materials); value of collaborators/mentors able to assist in development of artist voice/philosophical reflection, or in areas of technical weakness (project design, technical skill development, time and resource management, etc); value of self-care throughout reflective process. Projected completion date: Objective 1: 01JAN2027; Objective 2: Spring 2027).