Premed students may benefit from taking an anthropology course to better understand the nuanced social aspects of patient care, reports U.S. News & World Report.
Anthropology — or the study of humans and human behavior — can reveal a lot about the social and cultural factors that may influence patients' access to or relationship with healthcare.
Therefore, a background in anthropology can give premed students the basic skills to:
- Tailor healthcare to the needs of individuals and communities.
- Learn how to ask better questions to get a full view of the patient's condition.
- Empathize with patients and better understand how illnesses may affect their lives.
These skills will help future physicians improve patient care interactions and address some of the social issues affecting healthcare, U.S. News noted.
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