… to enhance our understanding of the human response to disease and suffering, deepen the interpretive skills of health professionals, situate medicine in its broader social and cultural context, and improve the delivery of health care.
- UCSF Medical Humanities Working Group mission statement

The UCSF Medical Humanities Initiative provides an interdisciplinary approach to investigating and understanding the profound effects of illness and disease on patients, health professionals, and the social worlds in which they live and work. Pre-medical programs and medical schools around the world are increasingly recognizing the value of providing humanities and social science-based instruction and mentoring that encourages students to explore how experiences of life between health and illness are expressed, rationalized, and given meaning. Reflecting the richness and complexities of the cultures that inform humanity’s ideas and beliefs, the medical humanities embrace multiple perspectives drawn from personal reflection and scholarly pursuit. Whether through art, poetry, history, or another approach, the field of Medical Humanities promotes professionalism, cultivates creative communication skills, and enriches the understanding of the art and science of medicine.

UCSF is proud to promote the Medical Humanities through curricular innovation and project development. This web site introduces a number of faculty who are active in teaching, mentoring or otherwise pursuing Medical Humanities. It provides information on research projects, elective courses and curricular options available for students, including information on the Area of Concentration in Medical Humanities Program for fourth year medical students (Director: Dr. Brian Dolan). Follow the links on the left navigation bar to begin exploring events and opportunities available in this dynamic area.

Listserv! Join the medical humanities listserv to receive occasional messages about forthcoming events by visiting this website (this is also how to unsubscribe).
==== The name of the listserv is "medhumanities". Contact Louise Aronson.

Contact the UCSF Medical Humanities Steering Committee for more information about our activities or to become involved:

Louise Aronson, MD, MFA, Dept. of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics
Brian Dolan, PhD, Professor of Social Medicine and Medical Humanities, Dept. of Anthropology, History & Social Medicine, School of Medicine.
John Tercier, MD, PhD, Samuel Hahnemann Professor of Medical History, Dept. of Anthropology, History & Social Medicine.
Guy Micco, MD, UC Berkeley, Joint Medical Program.

Questions and comments about the web site can be directed to Dr. Brian Dolan.

Acknowledgements:

UCSF Medical Humanities Initiative receives finciancial support from:

Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine;
Division of Geriatrics and the Hellman Family Fund;
University of California Humanities Research Institute;
UCSF Campus Life Services