Humanity in Medicine Prevails

Following the publication of the Flexner Report in 1910, contemporary leaders in medicine lamented the way medical education had turned from the bedside and the human patient toward a new and rigorous alignment with investigative science and research. Despite what has been described as the “Golden Age of Medicine” in the early 20th century, physicians were seen as experimental scientists – more interested in their technology than in their human patients – and even referred to by some as “robotic.” The crisis of Nazi medicine that ran on unregulated human experimentation during World War II revealed the sinister side of arrogant physicians. Another quarter century passed before Dr. Henry Knowles Beecher published his revealing article in the New England Journal of Medicine on “Ethics and Clinical Research” (1966) that made clear ethical regulation in medicine and publication was sorely needed. This trend culminated in the 1972 Tuskegee syphilis study revelation – when it was found hundreds of Black men were left untreated for more than 40 years just to study the disease. What followed was foundational to the rebirth of the humanities in medical education, and many departments of medical humanities and bioethics were established in the next 25 years. At the UMKC School of Medicine, it was the foresight of Drs. Marjorie and William Sirridge that brought humanities and bioethics to medical students, staff and faculty. These two original docents established the normative place for the humanities and helped to construct a curriculum that engages students across all six years in the combined B.A./M.D. track. Lectures in bioethics, professionalism and communication are sprinkled throughout the students’ first two years, and more in-depth study accompanies their progress through graduation. Our program is truly one of a kind. The Sirridges recognized the importance of extending learning beyond the lessons of science in medicine. They showed us the significance of art in medicine, of providing humanistic care to all – and how studying the human experience through poetry, literature, music and art makes for better physicians. Today, as in the past, the Sirridges’ vision remains central to our role of preparing medical professionals for the future. Enjoy this issue of Human Factor as we celebrate the publication’s 25th year of production. We have included works of the past and present for your enjoyment.

Brian S. Carter, M.D. Chairman and William and Marjorie Sirridge Professor Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics UMKC School of Medicine