Professionalism

It is a fact: the human side of medicine will always be an integral part of medical education and practice. Its instruction is here to stay, and it will continue to manifest in each medical advancement. In recent years, we have experienced a greater need to emphasize the link between humanities and medicine. The arts, in general, are gaining new attention in medical school curricular design. Despite the complex and overwhelming body of medical knowledge, we still manage to integrate humanities in medicine. For all the challenges we face in medical education today, no other has a more profound influence in developing caring physicians than inculcating them with values of empathy, altruism, and a true commitment toward safeguarding individual and community health. The developing physician needs to constantly reinvent our caring profession, exploring new ways to successfully meet patients’ needs and expectations of quality care; these core values are truly essential. Health Matters: The Human Side of Medicine will familiarize freshman medical students and those entering other health professions with a collection of topics that involve the humanistic aspect of practicing medicine. The main objective of this book is to serve as a guide for students taking our course, Medicine, Health and Society, or similar courses instructing humanities in medicine. Having the outstanding participation of the faculty members teaching the course as contributing authors makes this book special in both content and sentimental value. Our sincere thanks go to the faculty members of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine who so eagerly contributed to this book. Their shared expertise and willingness to foment the future generation of physicians have made this a worthy project. Our gratitude goes to all of them because without their creativity and enthusiasm this publication would not have been possible. It is truly heartening to see their commitment and dedication to future health care professionals. They are strong links in the chain of educators preserving and advancing the human side of medicine. Special thanks to Marti Echols, coeditor of this book, for her friendship and support. Marti’s ability to craft and streamline content made our editing task a success