Medicine in Contemporary Society (MCS) Core Curriculum
Areas of Focus
Medical Humanities
It is through the humanities that health professionals are sensitized to the patient
as a person coping with illness against the background of a healthcare system that
can often be de-humanizing. It is through the writing of novels, short stories and
poems that professionals and those coping with illness can express their insights
and experiences. MCS gives students an opportunity to expand their knowledge of ethical,
social, cultural, and humanistic issues in medicine in a manner reflective of their
own career choices and particular interests. MCS focuses on mastery of knowledge and
attitudes related especially to the following core competencies: professionalism and
ethics, communication, self-awareness, social context of medical care, and health
care systems.
Compassionate Care
The art of healing requires compassion and emotional intelligence on the part of clinicians,
yet many patients and their families do not experience care in this basic sense. As
the connection between healing and emotions becomes better understood scientifically,
we need to renew a commitment to compassionate care that is grounded in leading edge
research, scholarship, and educational efforts.
Bioethics
Bioethics is the systematic study of the moral dimensions – including moral vision,
decisions, conduct, and policies – of the life sciences and health care, employing
a variety of ethical methodologies in an interdisciplinary setting. From the beginning
to the end of life, biotechnologies and healthcare raise every conceivable question
about human dignity and the very future of human nature itself.
Core Units Offered
Date | Topic | Faculty | Divisions |
---|---|---|---|
Date8/27 | TopicMedicine as a Profession | FacultyDr. Michael Vetrano & Dr. Maria Basile | DivisionsThe Illness Experience |
Date9/3 | TopicWhat is the Illness experience? | FacultyDr. Michael Vetrano & Dr. Basile | DivisionsThe Illness Experience |
Date9/10 | TopicHealth Disparity and the Social Determinants of Health | FacultyDr. Phyllis Migdal | DivisionsThe Illness Experience |
Date9/17 | TopicProfessional Identify Formation and the Beneficiaries of Compassionate Care | FacultyDr. Stephen Post | DivisionsThe Illness Experience |
Date9/24 | TopicRespecting Patient Autonomy | FacultyDr. Vetrano | DivisionsThe Illness Experience |
Date10/15 | TopicMalicious Medicine | Faculty | DivisionsCompassionate Care |
Date10/22 | TopicPain/Ethics/Substance Abuse | FacultyDr. Kevin Zacharoff | DivisionsCompassionate Care |
Date10/29 | Topic
Facing Mortality |
FacultyDr. Vetrano | DivisionsCompassionate Care |
Date11/05 | TopicThe Ethics of Gender and Identity- caring for LGBTQ+Persons | FacultyDr. Allison Eliscu | DivisionsCompassionate Care |
Date11/12 | TopicDirectives and Decisions | FacultyDr. Vetrano | DivisionsBioethics: Ethical Standards in the Clinical Setting |
Date12/3 | TopicPersonal Conscience- Abortion and Medical Practice | FacultyDr. April Castillo & Dr. Beth Garduno | DivisionsBioethics: Ethical Standards in the Clinical Setting |
Date12/17 | TopicNarrative Medicine | FacultyDr. John Coulehan & Dr. Basile | DivisionsBioethics: Ethical Standards in the Clinical Setting |
Date1/7 | TopicProfessional Duties | Faculty Dr. Basile & Arthur Diamond, JD | DivisionsBioethics: Ethical Standards in the Clinical Setting |
Date1/28 | TopicStructural Racism and Health Care | FacultyDr. Cordia Beverley | DivisionsBioethics: Ethical Standards in the Clinical Setting |
Date2/4 | TopicMedical Finance | FacultyDr. Wertheim | DivisionsSocial Contexts of Care |
Date2/25 | TopicDementia and Society | FacultyDr. Post | DivisionsSocial Contexts of Care |
Date3/18 | TopicInterface of AI and Medical Practice | FacultyDr. Rachel Wong | DivisionsSocial Contexts of Care |