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Major offers unique blend

Sept. 26, 2006

By ALLIE COOK
Reporter

There are two essential qualities in the making of a good doctor: competence and care.

Dr. James Marcum and Dr. Michael Attas, directors of medical humanities, emphasize the need for both. But they recognize that the medical community has, in the recent past, not placed emphasis on teaching the humanistic, caring side.

"We've stressed the competency part," Marcum said. "And the caring part has sort of been ignored."

Having recognized this quality of care crisis, the medical humanities program was born, Marcum said.

This is the first semester for a Medical Humanities major to be offered, though Attas said the curriculum has been offered as a minor for the past seven years.

"We realized there needed to be something to help students understand the intersection of religion, spirituality, the philosophy of medicine and patient relationships," Attas said.

Attas estimated that when the program began, there was a moderate number of students involved, about 20 or 30, with the minor at that time.

Over the past few years the amount of interest began rapidly increasing among pre-medical students. Two factors contributed to the growth: positive feedback from students who graduated from the program and other from medical schools, Attas said.

"I think students thought it would help them in the application process (for medical school), and that it was exposing them to ideas in the medical field that they won't get (beyond undergraduate studies)," he said.

Because of this increase in demand, Attas and Marcum decided in 2005 to try and get the program approved as a major.

The first step they took was starting a petition among pre-medical students.

Five hundred students signed the petition. In May, President John Lilley signed off on the program as a new major. Attas estimated that about 200 students now have declared the major or minor. He also said that students obtain a bachelor of arts, not a bachelor of science, and that the program is interdisciplinary.

"We pulled together courses from other departments that have to do with health care," Attas said.

Alan Kramer, a Fredericksburg junior and a medical humanities major, said he takes courses in psychology, political science, philosophy, biology, health education, English, history, economics and religion. He also takes two other courses under Medical Humanities.

"It's a way for pre-med students to get a more holistic approach to medicine before medical school," Kramer said.

Kramer is unique among others within his major because he plans on attending law school instead of medical school.

"I want to go into health care law," Kramer said. "Since there's no track to law school, I thought (a medical humanities major) was a good way to get into the health care field."

Kramer said he likes the openness of the program, as well as the interdisciplinary aspects.

"It gives you a broader perspective on medicine and lets you approach it in a way you've never seen it before," Kramer said.

The program deals with various bioethical issues including abortion, stem-cell research, prenatal testing for diseases and the quality of health care, Kramer said.

Added stress and time requirements come with the program being offered as a major, Attas said. Therefore, he said the department will be looking to hire another professor soon. Marcum and Attas are currently the only two professors in the program, and Attas only works part time.

This fall the department begins fundraising for a $3 million endowed professorship, which Attas said will be named the Dr. William Hillis Endowed Professorship of Medical Humanities.

Hillis, a biology professor, has been very influential to the formation of program, Attas said.

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