The Doctor as a Humanist project is a global initiative to position empathy, compassion and the humanities at the centre of increasingly technologically-driven healthcare systems.
Founded in 2017, the project has attracted medical university partners and contributors from the UK, US, Russia, Spain and Mexico among others. The project has put on conferences and symposia where leading thinkers and practitioners have debated how the arts can continue to influence and intersect with clinical practice and approaches. Discussions have focused on a wide range of topics, from cross-cultural exchange to mental health to how art and literature can impact on medical education.
Through our work with Sechenov University in Moscow, one of the founding organisations of the project, we have seen how international speakers have joined together to emphasise the ongoing importance of the humanities and of humanistic principles to medical practice.
The Doctor as a Humanist organisation is holding a full day virtual symposium in conjunction with McGraw Hill on November 21st on ‘New Realities in Times of COVID-19: A Humanistic Response’. Speakers are attending from around the world, drawn together to address the urgent need to promote a humanistic vision during the current pandemic with a particular focus on the deep impact it has had – and will continue to have – on the mental health of so many.
The symposium is free. For more details and to register...