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Certificate in Medical Humanities and Ethics
Overview
The School of Medicine through the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program offers a Certificate (“The Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate”) for students enrolled in the School of Medicine who have demonstrated a substantive concentration in Medical Humanities
through course work, participation in the Medical Humanities community, a substantial written project, and relevant volunteer work experience. The award of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate is noted on the student’s final transcript.
Certificate Program Requirements
As part of the requirements for the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate, course work will include two required Blue Book courses sponsored by the McGovern Center, Introduction to Medical Humanities in the Fall of the student’s second year, and one fourth-year elective course in addition to a research project to be completed by February 28 of the student’s MS4 year. As detailed below, admission to the Certificate Program is through application only and must be approved by the current director of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program (or his or her designee) (“The Director”).
Number of Students
No more than 30 students per class year may be enrolled in the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program at any one time.
Admission to the Certificate Program
In order to make best use of the resources available, admission to the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program is at the discretion of the Director. Applications for admission can be submitted during the Spring of the student’s first year. Second-year applicants are also
encouraged to apply, and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Students wishing to gain admittance to the Certificate Program are encouraged to attend the Introduction to Medical Humanities blue book course during their first semester of medical school. Students who apply to the Program after the first semester who have not taken and passed the Introduction to
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Medical Humanities course may be considered for inclusion in the program if space permits. Students must submit an application for admittance to the Program through the Scholarly
Concentrations website. The application will include a “Personal Statement” section to include a short written statement of why the student wishes to pursue the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate. Students are also asked to submit a resume, and, if applying after the first year, the name of one current faculty reference. Applicants will also be asked to complete a pre-survey to be submitted at the time of their interview. All applicants will be interviewed by a member of the McGovern Center faculty. Matriculation into the program will occur on February 1 of the student’s MSI year.
Each student admitted into the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program will be assigned a contact person at the completion of the Humanities Summer Seminar, prior to the start of their second academic year. The student will be responsible for keeping track of his or her own progress towards meeting the requirements of the certificate, thus it is strongly suggested that all students maintain a portfolio of his/her progress in achieving program requirements. The student may consult with the Program Director to change to a different contact person, if desired. The change is subject to approval at the discretion of the Director.
Required Courses
All students may complete Introduction to the Medical Humanities I and II during the fall semester of their MSI and MSII years, respectively. Attendance at the Introduction to the Medical Humanities course is encouraged, but not required in the student’s first year; it is, however, required in the student’s second year. Upon satisfactory completion of all first-year medical school courses, students in the Program will participate in a Summer Humanities Seminar. Students will also attend a writing workshop in their MSIII year and, in their MSIV year, will take the elective, Humanistic Elements of Medicine. In order to build a community of scholars, the Program will host various sponsored events, such as Grand Rounds in Clinical Ethics and other social activities or events. Students are required to attend 5 of these programs in each of their four medical school years.
A. Core Courses
Introduction to Medical Humanities I (Encouraged, but not required in MSI year);
Humanities Summer Seminar (MSI Summer);
Introduction to Medical Humanities II (Fall of MSII year);
Two McGovern Center-sponsored blue book electives (During MSI and MSII years);
Humanistic Elements of Medicine (October, December, or February of MSIV year); and
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B. Required Program Activities and Events
Attend 5 Certificate Program Activities and Events in each MS year (these are to be selected from Grand Rounds in Clinical Ethics, Poetry or Film Nights, Book Clubs, and other social activities or events)
The Program Director retains the authority to add relevant new courses to the list of electives which become available after the approval of this program as well as to remove courses. If a course is removed, those students who received credit for the course while it was still in the Program will be able to count the course as part of their completion of the Certificate.
Good Academic Standing Requirement
The student must maintain good standing with the Medical School in all courses to remain in the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program.
Volunteer Requirement
Because the goal of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program is to prepare students for the humanistic practice of medicine in a health care setting, no student may receive the Certificate without practical volunteer experience. Students seeking the certificate in Medical Humanities are expected to be active leaders in the activities of the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program and in the Medical School. The volunteer experience may be either through the Medical School’s volunteer opportunities or an activity or experience approved in advance by the Director.
The Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program will sponsor informal events for students in the Program which may afford opportunity for individual students to participate in volunteer organizing and leadership activities. Students are required to participate in at least one substantial volunteer activity by the end of their MSII year. In order to receive credit, student must submit a one-page summary of his/her volunteer experience.
Writing Requirement
Students seeking the Certificate will be expected to demonstrate reflection and an interest in sustaining self-knowledge sufficient to promote their own growth as humanistic physicians. In the second year of medical school, students will be required to write a paper reflecting on a topic
presented in one of the required courses, activities, or events. This paper must be a minimum of two pages in length, double-spaced, and in twelve-point font with one-inch margins; no footnotes are required. Students must submit this paper at the end of the Spring of the student’s MSII year.
During the third year of medical school, students are required to keep a journal of personal reflections on their own experiences and feelings during each clinical rotation. Students must attend a writing workshop aimed at developing and refining their writing skills.
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Students seeking the certificate in Medical Humanities and Ethics must (1) complete a scholarly research paper on a subject related to the Medical Humanities or Ethics, or (2) produce a substantial work of interpretive content under the direction of a member of the McGovern Center’s faculty. This paper must be a minimum of 20 pages in length, double-spaced, and in twelve-point font with one-inch margins. The paper must include footnotes, which are in addition to and do not change the page length requirements. The paper must include citations to at least one journal outside the fields of medicine or public health.
The paper must be certified by the Director as suitable for the Student Medical Humanities and Ethics Symposium and must also besuitable for submission to a Humanities, Law, Medicine or Health Policy Journal (publication is not required).
Students should consult with the Director early in the process if they have any questions. The paper must be presented at the Student Medical Humanities Symposium or other public setting in the spring semester of the student’s fourth year. It must be completed no later than the end of February of the semester before the student plans to graduate. If a student plans to be absent in the spring semester of the final year, he or she must make plans to complete the paper and present it at the Student Medical Humanities Symposium for graduation unless he or she receives a specific waiver from the Director.
Make-Up Credit
In the event a student is unable to meet the stated program requirements, make-up credit may be obtained for each event missed by successfully completing a make-up assignment. To replace a missing event, students must complete a two-page, single-spaced paper (1,000 words) on an assigned reading; the assigned reading will relate to the missed event. “Missed event” refers to Program-sponsored activities and events, such as Grand Rounds in Clinical Ethics, Dinner Lectures, Special Lectures, etc. The deadline for make-up work is one month after notification of the deficiency.
Completion of the Program
Before the period for course registration is closed in the semester in which the student intends to graduate, he or she must submit a report to the Director indicating how he or she has met the
requirements of the Certificate. This report will be completed as an assignment in the required fourth-year elective, Humanistic Elements of Medicine.
No student may receive the Certificate without the approval of the Director, and the Director retains the discretion to drop a student from the Certificate Program for failure to comply with any of the requirements or for other good cause. The Director shall also have authority to modify, waive or
reconfigure the Program Requirements where necessary to promote equity and fairness in the event of unforeseen complications or exigent circumstances.
For more information: Please contact Program Director, Nathan Carlin, Ph.D., at
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Application Process
To apply to the Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program, students must complete an application for admittance. This application can be accessed through the Scholarly Concentrations page and submitted through the online system during the Spring semester of the student’s MSI year. For students who do not apply during their first-year, MSII students’ applications will also be
considered for enrollment on a case-by-case basis. Second-year students must also complete the online application through the Scholarly Concentrations page, but it is also suggested that they contact the Program Director as well.
On the applications, it is recommended students pay attention to the “Personal Statement” section. Responses to these questions are important for us to better understand the student as an individual as well as their goals and interests in medial humanities.
Applications will be received on a rolling basis; however, enrollment is limited to 30 students per class, so apply early!
Applications will be reviewed by the Program Director. Upon review, students will be contacted to schedule an interview and will be provided with a brief, pre-survey to submit at the time of their interview. Students will also be assigned a program mentor at this time.
The Medical Humanities and Ethics Program is part of the Scholarly Concentrations Program at UT Medical School. In addition to sending the application to the Program Coordinator, students are encouraged to fill out the online application to formally enroll in the program as a Scholarly Concentration. The Scholarly Concentrations Program is a national program, and enrolling in this program will help your residency applications. Although program applications may be turned in at any time, Scholarly Concentration applications may only be submitted beginning in Spring 2013.
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Program Requirements
MSI Year
•Blue Book Electives
Encouraged, but not required in MS1 year • Introduction to Medical Humanities I • At least 2 McGovern Center-sponsored blue books (by end of MS2 year) •Humanities Seminar
• Participate in reading and online discussion (Summer before MS2 year) •Volunteer Activity • Submit a summary of volunteer experience (by end of MS2 year) •Events
Encouraged, but not required in MSI year • Attend at least 5 program
events
MSII Year
•Blue Book Electives
• Introduction to Medical Humanities II (required) • At least 2 McGovern
Center-sponsored blue books (if not completed as MS1)
•Reflection Paper
• Submit a one- to two-page reflection on second year in the Program •Volunteer Activity • Submit a summary of volunteer experience (if not completed as MS1) •Events
• Attend at least 5 program events MSIII Year •Writing Orientation • Attend journal orientation •Writing Workshop
• Attend at least 1 session
•Journaling
• Write and submit 3 entries per 5 rotations, total of 15 journals (minimum) •Events • Attend at least 5 program events MSIV Year •Fourth-Year Elective • Attend Humanistic Elements of Medicine course in either October, December, or February
•Senior Research Project
• Submit a 20-page paper and/or complete an approved project •Project Presentation • Present paper/project at Symposium/Poster Session (Spring of MS4 year) •Events
• Attend at least 5 program events
