Whither (Whether) Medical Humanities? The Future of Humanities and Arts in Medical Education

Author Bio: Johanna Shapiro, Ph.D. is professor of family medicine and director of the Program in Medical Humanities & Arts, University of California Irvine, School of Medicine. As a psychologist and medical educator, she had focused her research and scholarship on the socialization process of medical education, with a special focus on the impact of training on student empathy; and on the doctor-patient relationship, including physician interactions with "difficult," stigmatized, and culturally diverse patient populations. Dr. Shapiro is a poetry co-editor for the e-magazine Pulse, an assistant editor for Family Medicine, and a special editor for Journal for Learning through the Arts. Dr. Shapiro has received numerous teaching awards, including The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and the UCI Excellence in Teaching Award. She has authored or co-authored over 130 refereed publications. Her recent book, The Inner World of Medical Students: Listening to Their Voices in Poetry, is a critical analysis of important themes in the socialization process of medical students as expressed through their creative writing.