Cheltenham’s ‘Medicine Unboxed’ is a series of conferences for NHS staff, exploring a view of medicine that aspires to more than the technical and which necessarily refers to values, uncertainty and human understanding – to art as much as science. This year, in partnership with the Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, we engage the interface between […]
Latest articles
Join in our online poll on how individual patient stories have affected the way you practice medicine
New this month to the Medical Humanities website is a series of online polls. The polls will appear once a month and provide an opportunity for you to share with others your experiences and thoughts about the interaction between clinical practice and medical humanities. As well as being asked to answer a simple yes/ no […]
“In the Land of Invisible Women” by Qanta Ahmed
I have recently been reading a memoir by a British lady, of Pakistan origin, who undertakes a position as a medical doctor at a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The book is beautifully formatted, with a cover decorated in Islamic art and design, with each chapter laid out to chronicle another adventure in Dr Ahmed’s […]
Clinical Ethics Conference: London 8-9th July 2010
On the 8th and 9th of July 2010 the Faculty of Health and Social Care at London South Bank University will be hosting a pioneering conference focusing on Best Practices in Clinical Ethics Consultation and Decision Making. For the first time in the UK, this conference will bring together an international and inter-professional dialogue between different stakeholders with the aim […]
Humanities at the Cutting Edge: an AMH Conference with sun, sea and surf as added extras: Truro 5-7th July 2010
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, one of the UK’s newer medical schools, has got a lot of things going for it, including its location in the glorious west country. A fact that won’t escape the notice of those lucky enough to be attending the annual conference of the Association of Medical Humanities this July. […]
Memories
Memories This piece is a reflection on an article from the New York Times this week. The story is told about a large family from Colombia, and their many relatives who have developed early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The case has been baffling doctors and scientists, both in Colombia and the United States. […]
Dr Ciraj A.M. writes about ‘An Unusual Annual Day’ in an Indian Medical School
This write up will share the experiences of an educational intervention with a difference. It narrates the story from a medical school located at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. For the annual day celebrations of this school, the faculty used to host a cultural show as a mark of their love and reverence […]
Blue lights and all: the paradox at the heart of being a doctor
This week, life as a general practitioner has been a little too exciting for my liking, and far too eventful for my patients- young and old- around whom this unnecessary and unwelcome excitement has centred. Twice in as many days I’ve had to call, in the middle of a surgery, for an ambulance, and to […]
It’s A Suffered Life
This is an account of a woman, herself severely injured during an attack in Sudan and who witnessed the murder of her babe. It’s A Suffered Life Gilded grace Upon Darkness. Tomorrow’s Heart Becomes the custom for sorrow. Fragmented faces Forgetting The Eyes of those who Beg to look afar. […]
The Landscape of Lesotho
Lesotho is one of the highest countries and is entirely landlocked by South Africa. 40% of Lesotho’s population survives on less than $1.25 a day. In centuries gone by, the people of Lesotho were driven high up into the mountains by the Xhosa and Zulu people and have repeated a solitary and isolated life, mainly […]