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Don’t miss the 4th Literature & Medicine Training Institute in Chicago, June 22-25, 2008.
by Lizz Sinclair ::: bio
For eleven years, Literature & Medicine has helped health care professionals across the country deal with the stresses and challenges of their work. This reading and discussion program provides an important opportunity for providers from every department of a hospital to share a meal and reflect on their work with one another through the lens of literature in a setting intentionally designed to welcome everyone’s opinion.
Literature & Medicine has grown through a network of state humanities councils, private non-profits affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Humanities councils promote and support the humanities in their respective states, offering public reading and discussion-based programs, including, in 19 states, Literature & Medicine. Each of the partner Lit & Med councils works closely with health care facilities in their state to organize the program, providing guidance, technical support and sometimes limited financial support as well. In short, humanities councils make it as easy as possible for health care facilities to host a program.
“I left energized and ready to start a program at my hospital!”
“This was one of the best professional development experiences I have had [as a scholar].”
“It was informative, stimulating, occasionally truly transforming.”
“The Institute was challenging and fulfilled my expectations, and more.”
Thus far, health care facilities in 20 states have participated, and more are interested in becoming involved. While L&M is relatively inexpensive, the benefits to participating health care professionals have been enormous, as you can see from the recent evaluations of the program. Not only do participants find the discussions stimulating and enjoyable, they also report that L&M has helped them to feel less isolated, more supported by their institution, and has helped them work effectively with their colleagues and patients because of an increase in their level of empathy and awareness of other cultures. As one participant wrote,
“Surgeons commune with nurses from our long-term care facility; secretaries speak with equal voice to administrators; laboratory technicians give their viewpoint to obstetricians. In short, [Literature & Medicine] has greatly improved communications among participating employees, and has also improved communications with patients.”
The Training Institute
This spring there will be an opportunity for those interested in starting the program, and for those new to it, to get all the tools they will need to launch a successful Literature & Medicine program of their own. The three days will combine small group discussions, plenary sessions, and many opportunities to interact with one another as well as current Literature & Medicine facilitators and hospital organizers.
- a thorough understanding of the program’s structure, goals, and outcomes;
- first-hand experience of what the program is like through small group discussions of readings;
- a variety of ways to approach facilitating the program, including practical experience;
- guidance in selecting readings and crafting syllabi;
- clear instruction on the process for successful implementation of the program within hospitals and other health care facilities, including an understanding of the roles of the scholar, the liaison (what we call the hospital organizer) , and the humanities council staff;
- an introduction to our new anthology of readings, on-line annotated bibliography and other resources;
- a valuable network of colleagues to draw upon for questions, best practices and reading recommendations.
In addition, each liaison and council staff member will receive a copy of our Literature & Medicine manual outlining the process of organizing the program in a health care facility.
Who should attend? *
- Any health care professional or hospital employee interested in starting a program
- Humanities council staff, scholars, and hospital liaisons who are or will be involved in the L&M program but have not yet attended an Institute
* Ideally, states will be represented by teams that include potential hospital organizers, facilitators, and state humanities council staff.
Location, Location, Location!
What could be better? Chicago is easily accessible by plane, and we have reserved a great place in the heart of the downtown for people to stay at an amazingly reasonable price. Chicago offers much to explore, from Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs; the Art Institute; Millennium Park; great shops and a vibrant atmosphere. Although the schedule is full, the schedule includes free time to see some of the sights, and you can choose to add a day to your stay before or after the conference at the same low rates if you act soon.
Registration
To give all conference participants real hands on experience, we must keep the number low. Therefore, it is very important to register early. For registration information and more details, click here for the Institute or contact Lizz Sinclair at Maine Humanities Council
What would you like future feature articles to explore? Send us your ideas! Email Lizz Sinclair.
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Web : West End Webs
Literature & Medicine has received major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.