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BackgroundThere is increased emphasis on practicing humanism in medicine but explicit methods for faculty development in humanism are rare.ObjectiveWe sought to demonstrate improved faculty teaching and role modeling of humanistic and professional values by participants in a multi-institutional faculty development program as rated by their learners in clinical settings compared to contemporaneous controls.DesignBlinded learners in clinical settings rated their clinical teachers, either participants or controls, on the previously validated 10-item Humanistic Teaching Practices Effectiveness (HTPE) questionnaire.ParticipantsGroups of 7-9 participants at 8 academic medical centers completed an 18-month faculty development program. Participating faculty were chosen by program facilitators at each institution on the basis of being promising teachers, willing to participate in the longitudinal faculty development program.InterventionOur 18-month curriculum combined experiential learning of teaching skills with critical reflection using appreciative inquiry narratives about their experiences as teachers and other reflective discussions.Main measuresThe main outcome was the aggregate score of the ten items on the questionnaire at all institutions.Key resultsThe aggregate score favored participants over controls (P = 0.019) independently of gender, experience on faculty, specialty area, and/or overall teaching skills.ConclusionsLongitudinal, intensive faculty development that employs experiential learning and critical reflection likely enhances humanistic teaching and role modeling. Almost all participants completed the program. Results are generalizable to other schools.

Objective: To develop medical students' skills in interacting with individuals who have limited health literacy. Methods: Described are 2 novel approaches to health literacy curriculum design. Efforts at both schools have been implemented to improve medical student awareness of health literacy, as well as specific skills in clear communication and strategies that ensure patient understanding. Results: Preliminary data from one school suggest an increase in use of health literacy behaviors. Curriculum development at both schools is ongoing. Conclusion: The ultimate goal of these curricula is for students to develop the core skills necessary for effective communication with all patients.

The following transcript is from a video program that is part of the Patient Narrative Series, produced by the Program in Communication and Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine [...]

A growing body of research demonstrates that intimates do not always confront their partners with grievances. Although useful, the extant research has not looked to the fundamental, goal-oriented nature of confrontation for factors that explain why intimates are unwilling to confront their partners. This study examines the extent to which an individual's outcome expectations (i.e., confidence that a given behavior will yield a particular outcome) and efficacy expectations (i.e., confidence that he or she can enact the relevant behavior) predict the likelihood that a confrontation will take place., Although intimate relationships are important sources of satisfaction, they can also cause emotional turmoil (Argyle & Furnham, 1983). Intimates engage in everyday behavior that can aversively affect their partner's emotions [...]