Intercalated BA in Medical Humanities at the University of Bristol
In early 2010 we will be recruiting for our October 2010 intake of this innovative one-year degree programme, designed for intercalating medical students. It includes core modules with medical perspectives in philosophy, history and literature. Elective modules include poetry, critical theory and the philosophy of science. Students have the opportunity to apply their learning in these diverse fields through a substantive dissertation.
Programme description
Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
“In present-day medicine... there is an almost exclusively technical
or mechanical emphasis, which has led to immense advances, but also to intellectual
regression, and a lack of proper attention to the full needs and feelings of
patients.”
Why humanities and medicine?
Medicine is a fascinating and challenging undertaking, marking a turbulent intersection between humanistic and scientific understandings of life. The advances in medical science, particularly in the last 150 years, have been extraordinary. These are reflected in a medical curriculum overflowing with basic and clinical science. However this success must not blind us to the wider view. What about, for instance, the personal dimension, which becomes so apparent when we, or our loved ones, become ill? Medical technologies are applied to ailing individuals for whom both their illness and its treatment is highly meaningful. We can also wonder about the nature of clinical science itself and the way it constructs knowledge about the medical universe. The medical humanities, as a disciplinary field, offers one route into this more mature understanding of illness and the scientific basis of its alleviation. It draws on a wide range of academic disciplines that have sought to portray and question the nature of medicine. Its principal fields are literature, philosophy, socioanthropology and history, to which many others could potentially be added. Their study provides a healthy complement to the standard scientific and clinical curriculum.
What is the BA Medical Humanities programme?
Here are the formal aims of the programme - read carefully!
| This programme aims to develop the student's interest in and knowledge and understanding of the contribution of humanities to the accomplished practice of medicine and medical research. Grounded in the disciplines of English Literature, Philosophy and History, the curriculum aims to show how the humanities can illuminate the context in which medicine and medical research are practiced. It aims to impart some of the knowledge and skills of literary and philosophical analysis and apply these to a broadened conceptualisation of the suffering individual, their medical care and carers, and the historical and epistemological basis on which that care is delivered. In addition to two core units specifically related to the medical humanities, students do a more general unit in each discipline. This gives them ample opportunity to learn from and with fellow students in the Arts Faculty. In a dissertation unit they will be required to explore a particular aspect of the medical humanities theme and demonstrate advanced research and writing skills. The programme seeks to fulfill the General Medical Council's recommendations for a curriculum that is "intellectually challenging", with time for "reflection and personal growth" leading to an "understanding of the social and cultural environment in which medicine is practiced" and an ability to "critically evaluate evidence". The global aim is to produce better doctors - emotionally and cognitively intelligent, culturally aware and philosophically enquiring. |
The intercalated BA in Medical Humanities (iBAMH) programme offers you the opportunity of a year devoted to academic study in the humanities - intercalated within the main MB ChB programme, usually after the second year. It is located within the disciplines of English Literature and Philosophy - in particular the philosophy of science. There is a complementarity between these two - literature confronts students with a considered range of intimate human experience and philosophy demands students to step back and question the assumptions upon which medical science is based. Over the course of the BA, you will therefore learn to think in different intellectual systems with different sizes of “picture” - an important transferable skill for the physician.
For Bristol students, the degree builds on humanities exposure from the first two years of the MB ChB course - in particular the Human Basis of Medicine Unit which included sociology, anthropology, ethics and “Whole Person Care”.
Signing up, you formally transfer from the Faculty of Medicine to the Faculty
of Arts. In the Arts Faculty, teaching is organised, not in terms, but in two
twelve-week “teaching blocks” (TB1 and TB2). How we propose to ease
students' transition to the Arts Faculty is covered below, first we introduce
the Units.
Introducing the Units
Students engage in five modules of learning called “Units”. These have been carefully chosen (or newly created) to deliver the programme aims (see above). In TB1 there is a choice of one of two literature units otherwise units are compulsory.
|
Level |
Unit Titles | Format | Credit Points | Assessment |
| TB1 | ||||
| H | Philosophy of Science (compulsory) | Weekly lecture + Weekly seminar |
20 | 3hr end of yr exam |
| I | Choice of Critical Issues (in English Literature) or Approaches to Poetry | Weekly seminar (crit issues) or weekly seminar + x3 lectures/week (poetry) | 20 | 3500 word essay (critical issues) or 3000 word essay (poetry). Formative essays also set. |
|
Level |
Unit Titles | Format | Credit Points | Assessment |
| TB2 | ||||
| H | Literature & Medicine (compulsory) | Weekly seminar | 20 | 2,000 word short & 4,000 word long essay |
| H | Philosophy and History of Medicine (compulsory) | Weekly lecture + Weekly seminar |
20 | Open book exam |
| H | Dissertation (compulsory) | Self study + supervision | 40 | 6,500-8,000 word essay |
Units accrue credit points of which you need at least 120 for a BA degree, of which 90 must be at “level H” - which is equivalent to third year undergraduate standard. What follows is a brief description of each of the units.
Philosophy and History of Medicine
This unit surveys the “making” of modern medicine from the French Revolution to the AIDS pandemic. It explores some of the key epistemological frameworks of our medical world in their socio-historical context. It traces the creation in the nineteenth century of two new medical institutions, hospitals and laboratories, of new medical professionals working in them, and of new causal understandings of disease. Turning to the twentieth century, it then traces the formation of biomedicine and national health care systems, and examines the implications of efforts to standardize medical knowledge and practice through the clinical trial and evidence-based medicine. Throughout, the unit explores the tensions between the increasing objectification of medicine and the subjective dimensions of doctors’ knowledge and patients’ illness. Addressing the changing relationship between the doctor and patient, science and medicine, and concepts of health and disease, the unit critically assesses the nature and status of disease categories, medical expertise and medical knowledge. This unit is open to medical and philosophy students. If we establish a “Philosophy of Medicine” unit, this unit will become more purely historical.
Literature and Medicine
This unit will explore the interrelation between medicine and literature across a range of literary genres and historical periods. Drawing on this historical perspective, it will explore the changing literary representations of patients, illness and the medical profession. Topics will include: the body in literature; the complex interaction of literature and psychoanalysis; illness and the nature of artistic experience; Shakespeare and medicine; literary constructions of physical and mental illness; and illness as metaphor. Open to both English and Medical Students, the unit will expose students to the challenges of interdisciplinarity. The unit comprises a weekly two hour seminar underpinned by a wide range of textual and critical sources and is assessed by two essays of 2,000 and 4,000 words respectively.
English option 1 - Critical issues (in English Literature)
This unit introduces students to some central issues and debates in literary criticism and theory. These will be encountered in the context of the study of certain prescribed texts: four novels, and one play. By considering these texts in the light of designated topics, students will become acquainted with the guiding ideas (and, to an extent, with the specialized vocabularies) of some of the most influential schools of criticism and theory in the twentieth century, such as feminism, narratology, psychoanalysis, post-colonialism, nationalism, and new-historicism. The unit comprises a weekly two hour seminar underpinned by a wide range of textual and critical sources and is assessed by two essays of 2,000 and 4,000 words respectively.
English option 2 - Approaches to Poetry
Approaches to Poetry provides an introduction to a wide range of English poetry from the Middle Ages to the present, and to some of the principal forms, styles and genres in which English verse has been written, including various comic, elegiac, epic and mock epic, erotic, lyric, pastoral and satiric forms. An introduction is provided to several common verse techniques, including enjambment, conceit, metaphor, repetition, and several forms of scansion. The Unit also introduces some critical problems relating to the reading and discussion of poetical texts, and to some general notions of the nature and function of poetic form. Subjects discussed include classical myth and English poetry, poetry and history, the figure of the poet, poetry and song, poetic translation and transmission, the place of women in poetry, poetry and painting, poetic inspiration, and poetic endings. The unit, while complete in itself, provides a foundation for further study of poetry. Particular attention will be given to scholarly standards of writing and presentation. The unit comprises a weekly two hour seminar underpinned by a wide range of textual and critical sources and is assessed by two essays of 2,000 and 4,000 words respectively.
Philosophy of Natural and Social Science
What kinds of relations exist between theories? Can new theories explain the success of their predecessors? Is science progressing towards unification? What do we mean by the term 'probability'? What is the relationship between confirmation and explanation? Does the successful prediction of a hitherto unforeseen event provide more confirmation than the successful prediction of a well-known one? Can medicine be called a science? What do we mean by 'health' and 'disease'? What is the role and evidential import of randomised controlled trials? This unit is assessed by an open book exam at the end of the year.
Dissertation Unit
This dissertation unit, unique to iBAMH, is designed to allow students to demonstrate their ability to integrate their learning from the other units of the programme. Students write a dissertaton of 6,500 to 8,000 words (including quotations and notes, excluding bibliography) on a subject of their own choice, agreed by the Unit Director and a supervisor from the departments of English or Philosophy. The topic of the dissertation must include some aspect of the medical humanities and draw on learning in other units in the programme. Depending on the topic, additional supervision from a clinician may be available. Students meet regularly with their supervisor(s), prepare plans of work, demonstrate abilities to search and assimilate information from a variety of sources and produce a well reasoned account in clear academic prose. Topics for dissertations in recent years have included: The Making of Schizophrenia from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day; Sleeplessness in Medicine and Literature from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day; Lovesickness in Literature and Biomedicine; The Royal Navy, Cholera and Quarantine in the Nineteenth Century; Death without God in Tennyson’s In Memoriam; Dracula in Literature and Medicine;Hippocrates: Fact or Fiction, Father or Fraud?; Nutrition and the Death Camps; Narrative Competence and its Lessons for the Clinic; The Physical and Metaphysical in Keats; A Discussion of the Importance of Medical Humanities in the Practice of Medicine.
Assessing the Units
Though formative assessment may involve presentations, summative assessment is through essay writing, dissertation, take home exams (shorter essays written over a week or so) and one 3h exam paper with essay-style answers.
Supporting your transition to the Arts Faculty
The learning culture of the Arts Faculty is different to that of the Medical Faculty. Though medics may joke about the easy life of the arts student, their overall workload is roughly equivalent. The big difference is that learning in the Arts Faculty is primarily self-directed and requires considerable independent reading. There is relatively little direct contact time with teaching staff. That said, lectures will be crucial to developing your understanding of this sometimes complex material. Seminars are small teaching groups. By comparison to medicine, a much higher level of preparedness is expected for Arts seminars and active participation is mandatory. We have specifically designed the programme to give the iBAMH a real sense of being part of the Arts Faculty and we also recognise the challenges that come with that shift. To support you we have put in the following:
1. The Oakhill Group. This is a forum in which you will have opportunity to integrate your learning and build bridges to your future clinical life. It is described in further detail below.
2. Introductory Seminars. The English units in TB1 are actually year one units and and therefore intrinscially introductory. For philosophy there will be either one or two introductory seminars in preparation for the “Philosophy and History of Medicine” core unit.
3. Integrated learning. By this we mean that you will be learning alongside arts students most of the time. All units (except the dissertation) are open to arts students. This is a unique feature of the Bristol iBAMH.
4. Introductory reading. You will be provided with a range of reading materials that you should address in the summer prior to starting the iBAMH. See below for details.
5. Academic support. Arts Faculty academics offer to read and give you feedback on your academic writing prior to formal submissions.
Oakhill Group
During TB1 and TB2 a study group will be run every two weeks solely for intercalating students from MB ChB or equivalent programmes. These tutorials will be facilitated by staff from the Department of Community Based Medicine. The purpose of the group is to a) support students in relation to the main units and help them “own” and integrate their learning b) help forge links between the medical humanities and clinical medicine and c) provide a safe forum for students' personal and artistic development. The work of the group is informal and will not be formally assessed. Student's will be encouraged to keep a portfolio of their work, and to keep a written record of their own progress. This will contribute to both to self and peer, assessment and feedback.
Career benefits of joining the programme
The programme will be of value to anyone who wants to practice clinical medicine - particularly those interested in general practice, psychiatry or palliative medicine - where the human factor is most evident. The literary and historical aspects of the programme will equip students with insights into the many ways in which medicine shapes and is shaped by the cultures and societies in which it is practiced. Since all physicians rely on both narrative and history in their practice, and the study of both will only strengthen this aspect of clinical work. The philosophy of science will be of direct value to anyone who enters research, and will also foster critical skills in the interpretation of medical research. The programme will connect future medical educators to rich resources in the humanities. The course will be of inestimable benefit to those who pursue careers in medical writing - such as journal editors and medical journalists – or those who value the clear communication of medical ideas to patients, the public and the profession. Along with these skills, the degree may also transform your outlook on medicine and life in a more general sense.
Deciding if this programme is for you
Prospective students should carefully consider the merits of the programme in light of the other options available.
Gaining a place on the programme
The purpose of the selection process is to ensure that we enrol students who are likely to enjoy the programme and cope with its academic rigours.
General requirements to intercalate (in any subject)
Most medical schools have rules about who can and who cannot intercalate. These are designed to dissuade students from applying who need to focus on their core medical studies - perhaps due to poor prior exam performance. For Bristol applicants about 40% of the year are deemed eligible to intercalate - though we did accept onto the iBAMH two exceptional students who had for particular personal reasons fallen below this threshold. Non-Bristol students must seek approval from their Pre-Clinical or Clinical Deans before applying to Bristol.
Requirements for iBAMH
Applicants must demonstrate that they are capable of coping with the intellectual demands of the programme including the ability to undertake the reading of a wide range of primary and secondary literary, historical and philosophical sources; to think conceptually and write coherently. Applicants may for example:
1. Have studied and passed a humanities subject up to either A or AS level
2. Have passed their Social Science (Bristol - HBoM) units, with merit or distinction
3. Have shown particular interest and competence in arts-related SSCs in year 2.
4. Engage in some aspect of the humanities as extra-curricular activity
Selection Process
Bristol students have to apply to the Faculty Office by Friday 12th February 2010 using the generic intercalation application form. Once we have checked that you are eligible to intercalate, will we provide you with a special iBAMH application form by email, hopefully by the start of the following week.
Non-Bristol students should first of signal their interest in intercalation via email communication with Dr Trevor Thompson (trevor.thompson@bris.ac.uk), also by Friday 12th 2010. He will pass your contact details to the Programme Secretary, Jess Dunton (j.dunton@bris.ac.uk), who will send you the special iBAMH application form at the same time as it is sent to the Bristol students.
The application form is of moderate length and contains three tests of academic aptitude - in literature, in philosophy and in history. Your eligibility will be judged primarily on the basis of this form so give it your best shot. The special iBAMH application form should be submitted to Jess Dunton by email no later than Friday 26th February 2010. Non-Bristol students also need to submit a letter from someone in authority in their medical school to state that they are eligible to intercalate in Bristol. This can take a while to get sorted so we recommend you seek this permission as soon as you know you are seriously interested in gaining an iBAMH place. An email will normally suffice.
We hold interviews in the week starting 8th March 2010 – probably on the morning of Monday 8th, so please make preparations to be excused from your normal teaching on this day. The interview process will include a simulated seminar and a short (~15m) interview. Both will be based on matters arising from your application and no presentations are expected. We would hope to be able to offer places by Monday 15th March - before the end of the Bristol term.
Though we predict more applicants than places, there is still a good chance of committed applicants being successful - so good luck! Students from outside Bristol will be considered on an equal footing with Bristol students. Typically about 1/3 of students on the programme are from medical schools other than Bristol. Current students and graduates are available to talk about the programme - contact Jess for more information.
Pre Course Preparation
Successful applicants will receive help in preparation for the 2010-2011 academic year. There will be an informal meeting in June (students from outside Bristol will come if they can) and various preparative reading materials will be suggested by the unit leaders. Some of this may be “required” so be prepared to do some reading in the long vacation.
Books to be read before staring the iBAMH
BOOKS IN RELATION TO PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Philosophy
History
BOOKS IN RELATION TO THE PHILSOPHY OF SCIENCE
You will appreciate the strength of Bristol Philosophy of Science scholarship when you discover that the three books below (which are widely read beyond Bristol) are all written by current members of the Bristol department.BOOKS IN RELATION TO LITERATURE
Primary Texts for Critical Issues (note these will not all necessarily be drawn upon)
The core literary texts for Critical Issues vary from tutor to tutor. The following is a representational sample of what is taught on the course. All tutors teach the starred texts.Primary Texts for Literature and Medicine (note these will not all necessarily be drawn upon)
Primary Texts for Approaches to Poetry
GENERAL BOOKS
Here are some books that are just generally stimulating without being onerous.Your first port of call for further information regarding the course should be:
Dr Trevor Thompson
Consultant Senior Lecturer
Academic Unit of Primary Health Care
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA
trevor.thompson@bris.ac.uk
T: 0117 331 3819 (no message facility)
M: 07947 211 411 (if no reply txt is best)
F: 0117 331 3815
UoB Days Mon, Tues and Fri