High rates of burnout and depression among medical students, residents, and physicians indicate that medical professionals at all levels of their career need healthy ways to sustain themselves against the emotional, physical, and mental challenges they face daily. Prior research suggests that students who engage with the medical humanities develop positive physician qualities and experience lower levels of burnout. However, no research has explored physicians’ perspectives on how exposure to the humanities through the medical school curriculum carries into professional life and practice. Additionally, while numerous U.S. medical schools have established literary arts journals as outlets for self-expression, research on the significance of engaging with such journals is sparse. This study sought to explore how residents who engaged with self-expression through Eloquor, their medical school’s humanities journal, understood their experience with the medical humanities and related it to personal and professional facets of their lives as physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight residents who had published in Eloquor as students. Interview transcripts were analyzed to identify salient themes.
The results of the study indicate that medical humanities experiences instilled knowledge, skills, and attitudes that remained relevant beyond medical school, contributing to participants’ ability to navigate the personal and professional challenges of physicianhood. Specifically, participants discussed how engaging with the medical humanities contributed to their personal well-being and professional growth, promoted balance between personal and professional facets of their lives, and fostered community and understanding within and outside the profession. Personal well-being was linked to self-expression in particular, which participants described as an outlet, processing tool, and avenue for self-improvement. Medical humanities experiences in general contributed to participants’ professional growth, by facilitating career advancement and aiding their professional development. Medical humanities also offset the all-consuming nature of medicine and provided a break from the sciences, making room for the art of medical practice. Additionally, participants described how spaces like Eloquor cultivated community and understanding by illuminating physicians’ experiences. The findings of this study suggest that medical humanities experiences enhance the education, practice, and well-being of future physicians.