As medical students begin immersing themselves in the clinical setting — in which work must be done methodically and efficiently — many struggle with the unsettling, yet seemingly necessary transformation to a state of desensitization.
"I discovered that it does not take long to acclimate to the cries of patients as I hurried past their rooms, eager not to fall behind in a setting where work must be done quickly and efficiently," Daniel Marchalik, MD, a urologist in Washington, D.C., wrote in The New York Times. "This practiced detachment feels necessary, a form of emotional and physical self-preservation. But with little time to slow down, ignoring our own thoughts and feelings quickly hardens into a habit."
The desire for an outlet to facilitate greater introspection for himself and his peers led Dr. Marchalik — who was a literature major as an undergraduate — to launch the literature and medicine track at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.
The goal of the course, which began only as a book club, is to help medical students "foster habits of reflection over four years of medical school," Dr. Marchalik wrote. While the assigned books have nothing to do with medicine, they help students carefully consider and discuss complex human emotions and questions that are often sidelined in a busy medical profession.
"Our busy jobs on the hospital wards require precision and efficiency, but in literature class we can slow down and explore human lives and thoughts in a different, more complex way," wrote Dr. Marchalik. "The class is an anatomy lab of the mind. We examine cultural conventions and conflicting perspectives, and reflect on our own preconceived notions about life and work. Reading attentively and well, we hope, will become a sustaining part of our daily lives and practice."