UNMC, UNO partner with medical humanities course

Laura Flores is an MD-PhD scholar. Before she came to medical school, she studied philosophy.

“I was missing the feeling of writing and asking meaningful questions and using creativity,” she said.

Justin Grassmeyer, PhD, a Graduate Studies alumnus, also is on the MD-PhD track. And he, too, is interested in more than just hard science.

“I’m drawn to medical humanities because it helps me make sense of the true place of medical care in our patients’ lives,” he said. “It is easy to have a very medically focused approach to patient care: identifying a problem, treating it appropriately, and making sure it worked. But I am also interested in understanding how this interaction impacts patients and physicians more holistically.”

Steve Langan, director of medical humanities at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), asked Flores and Dr. Grassmeyer to help teach one of his classes this semester, Writing About Sickness and Health.

“Laura and Justin are adding to the breadth and depth of this class and the experiential aspect. Sharing their learning and training helps give context to our literary investigations. Plus, they’re brilliant, open, and caring — a great trifecta,” Langan said.

They’d both previously taken the class themselves and enjoyed it.

But, when he took it, “No one was a pre-med major,” Dr. Grassmeyer said. “No one was a biology major.”

He hopes their presence as teachers can help add that perspective for the students.

And he knows he will learn from them as well.

Health and medicine “is such a rich area for storytelling, a great way to tap into basic human emotions and feelings,” Dr. Grassmeyer said.

He knows he will need that well-roundedness to better relate to his future patients. He’ll need to help them understand the care he will give them, while he strives to see their needs beyond the purely medical.

Meanwhile, Flores already has seen both sides of the equation, which she will bring with her to the class, she said.

“Battles with sickness and triumphs in health. Maybe there will be chances during this class to share those stories with others when they need to hear them,” she said.

UNO and UNMC are committed to the emerging study of medical humanities. UNO is working on developing a center for health humanities, to be named for Ted Kooser, with support and partnership from UNMC.

Langan said there are nearly 300 UNO students, many on pre-health tracks, who are specializing in the medical humanities, as either a major or minor.

“We expect many of them to start knocking on the door at UNMC,” Langan said. “They’re caring, critical thinkers who are also change-makers.”