The Division of Medical Humanities offers medical students the opportunity to enrich their medical education by study and involvement in the humanities through participation in Humanities Elective courses, Humanities Grand Rounds, Humanities Special Events, and Directed Research activities. These offerings are open to all interested students. Each year medical students who participate in Humanities courses and activities qualify for the special designation of Humanities Scholar, which is noted on the permanent transcript and at graduation, as well as by receipt of a Humanities Scholar certificate issued by the Division of Medical Humanities.

To receive the Humanities Scholar Award students must:


Humanities Scholars may choose from two completion deadlines:

1. Complete all requirements by August 1 of the senior year. Students completing their requirements by this time will receive a certificate of achievement, have their accomplishment mentioned in their Dean’s letter, and have a notation in their medical school record.

2. Complete all requirements by March 15 of the senior year. Students who complete their requirements by this time will receive a certificate of achievement and a notation in their medical school record, but will not be finished in time for mention in the Dean’s letter.

Students who are considering becoming a Humanities Scholar should discuss their plans with Florence Gelo, D.Min., Director of the Humanities Scholars Program, at Florence.Gelo@drexelmed.edu or at 215-991-8464.

Additional Information About Requirements

  1. Complete at least three Humanities Elective Courses:

    Course credit is awarded for satisfactory completion of three different Humanities Elective courses which are offered at the Queen Lane campus during the academic year. No course may be taken for credit more than once. Students must sign in at each class session and meet all other individual course requirements in order to receive course credit. Course credit appears on each student’s medical school transcript.

  2. Attend at least six Humanities Grand Rounds or Humanities Special Events:

    Humanities Grand Rounds presentations are offered at the Queen Lane Campus. Humanities Special Events take advantage of Philadelphia’s unique medical community and include walking tours, museum visits, etc. Students must attend the actual, live lecture or event to get credit for at least four Humanities Grand Rounds. The remaining two Grand Rounds can be viewed online or on DVD. Students document attendance or viewing DVDs by keeping a journal in which they briefly record their impressions and reactions to each Humanities Grand Rounds or Special Event (about 1/2 page, or 2 paragraphs each). Journal entries must clearly specify date, speaker, and topic of presentation. Contact the Division of Medical Humanities at 215-991-8464 to inquire whether an outside activity can be approved for Humanities Grand Rounds/Humanities Special Event credit.

    Students retain their journals until Humanities course and Grand Rounds/Special Events requirements are completed, at which time each student presents his/her journal entries, along with a current medical school transcript indicating completion of three elective courses, to the Director of the Humanities Scholars Program to document completion of primary requirements for Humanities Scholars Certificate.

  3. Attend a “Writing for Publication” lecture:

    Students must attend, or view online, a lecture that addresses the basic aspects of writing a publishable paper on a humanities topic and complete a journal entry describing key points from the session.

  4. Submit a written proposal:

    Students must submit a one to two paragraph written proposal and obtain approval of the topic for the independent study project. General areas of inquiry include ethics, literature, history, philosophy, art, cultural studies, law, religion and spirituality, and music as they relate to medicine. The proposal should also list two or three peer-reviewed journals or Internet venues for publication.

  5. Complete a humanities paper or project:

    Students wishing to pursue the Humanities Scholar Certificate must complete primary requirements and then meet with the Director of the Humanities Scholars Program to discuss the project. Students work with a faculty advisor who has expertise in the chosen area of inquiry. To receive credit, students must complete an acceptable research paper of at least ten pages in length, with references, or a substantial project, that has been approved by the Director of the Humanities Scholars Program.

Fourth Year Research Elective in Medical Humanities

Students may choose to create a research elective in the medical humanities in their senior year. This may serve as an opportunity for intensive work toward the completion of the Humanities Scholar paper or project requirement. The student must identify a humanities faculty preceptor who must pre-approve the goals of the elective. The elective must also be pre-approved by Professor Gelo, Director of the Scholars Program. All arrangements must be made through the DUCoM clerkship office; refer to the website regarding special electives

http://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/clinicaleducation/SpecialElectiveinfo.htm

**Note: This rotation is full-time and requires dedicated research and frequent on-site meetings between student and preceptor. It cannot be completed as an "away" rotation.

Selected Humanities Scholars - 2000-2010

Paper Topics

2000

Kristen Carey

Mandatory Reporting of Domestic Violence: an Ethical and Human Rights Perspective

Dominic Gault

Health Beliefs of the Delaware Indians

Meredith Lee Heltzer

Plant References in Shakespeare

Daniel A. Smith

Why Methadone Maintenance Treatment is not accepted in America

Parveen Vahora

Silent Shrieks: Female Genital Mutilation

Christopher Ware

Internet Usage and Validity Testing by Chronic Pain Patients: Results of a Web-based Survey

2001

Mary C. Davies

Pioneering Otolaryngologists of The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania 1883-1900

Asif Ilyas

Orthopedic Surgery: The First Modern Medical Specialty?

Sonu Jain

Chevalier Jackson and the Introduction of Modern Bronchoesophogoscopy

Erum Khan

Violence against Muslim Women: Culture versus Religion

Abigail Rose

Reflections on My Experience Working with the Navajo in Shiprock, New Mexico

Joel Martin Schofer

Informed Consent and the Wartime Environment

Laurie A. Wincko

Children and Violence: The Role of Art Therapy

2002

Jason Estrin

Estrin, J.E., Tenore, J., Fleetwood, J., and Lipsky, M.

"Genetic Susceptibility Testing for Breast Cancer: Implications for Practitioners."

Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. Vol. 7, No 1, January, 2000.

2003

Amy Baranowski

Medical Genetics

Keri Cohn

Beyond the Sterile White Walls

Vanita B. Dharan

The use of alternative therapies in Obstetrics: A review of the literature

Zoe Friedman

Alternative and Complementary (CAM) Healing Modalities

Greta Piper

Perspectives on Organ Donation

Danielle Raimond

The Controversy over the Truth

William E. Schaaf, Jr.

The Potential of Music Therapy as an Option for Patients Undergoing MRI

2004

Harris Ahmad

Proper Care for the Fasting Diabetic Muslim in the Month of Ramadan

Rose Antoine

Religion and Spirituality in Medical Education

Scott Bier

A Discussion of Ancient Egyptian Medical Practice

Shilpi Mehta

Understanding the Decision Not to Reduce: The Case of the McCaughey Septuplets

Jeevan Sekhar

A Brief History of Chinese Medicine: The Impact of Antibiotics on Chinese Medical Practice

2005

Monica Dua

Art Therapy in the Pediatric Population as an Adjunct to Medical Treatment

Vasiliki A. Moragianni

Ethical Considerations of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

2006

Megan Beatty

Literary Medical Doctors

Nina Nanda

Catholicism vs. Hinduism: Issues of End-of-Life Care

Anne Valerie Maria Nienstedt

Linguistic, Cultural, and Ethical Considerations in the Doctor-Patient Relationship Involving Hispanic Patients in the United States

2007

Diana X. Bharucha

End of Life in the Pediatric Population

Robert Bramante

An Appropriate Symbol for Modern Medicine or a Case of Mistaken Identity

Kristin Geisser Christensen

Compulsory HPV Vaccination Examining the Debate

Amanda Ficacelli

End of Life Care in Pediatrics

Leslie C. Ghisletta

A Glance at Women in Surgery

Ritu Kumar

Using Art to analyze the physician patient relationship

Athanasios Melisiotis

Communication and Cultural Barriers in the Effective Treatment of the non-English speaking population in the Emergency Department

Michelle Orengo-McFarlane

Derangements of the uterus, derangements of the nerves; women writes on hysteria

Neelam Mahendra Patel

The Polio and Asthma Epidemics: Public Awareness and Prevention in the United States

Tiffany Pierce

The Effects of Federal Funded Abstinence Only Education

Meghan Treitz

Portrayal of Grief in Children's Literature

2008

Laura Napier Dougherty

That One Simple Test: An Examination of the Development of the Pregnancy Test, Emergency Medicine and a Changing Society

Stephanie Keller

Cultural Expectations and the Evolution of MRI Scanning

Bonnie Lau

The Chinese Culture’s perception on Death and Illness

2009

Megan Gould

Oliver and Olivia – an illustrated story

Sanistree Tanikella

Interested in Learning More about Mind-Body Medicine

Michael Tatusov

History of Vaccine Development

Patricia Young

Improving Cancer Prognosis with better Communication Practices

2010

Sara Beltz

Images of the Black Death: The 1347 Plague and Art History

Tess Bitterman

Ethical Considerations/Politics in Pandemics

Joanna Gernsback

I Have What!?! Medical Naming Conventions

Megan Healy

Epilepsy & Africa

Paul Phelps

The Evolution of Cataract Surgery as Ophthalmology Becomes a Modern Medical Specialty

Shawn Robinson

Islam and Christianity: A Comparison of Health Care Viewpoints

Heather Swanson

Identifying and Preventing Child Abuse and its Long Term Outcomes

Jennifer B. White

Gender Differences in Substance Abuse and Treatment