The Rebalance and Integrate Medical Education (PRIME) project was convened in May 2010, and undertook the first critical evaluation of the definitions, aims and objectives of teaching medical ethics and the humanities. The authors describe the formation of a national expert panel of educators representing the disciplines of ethics, history, literature and the visual arts. This panel was charged with describing the main pedagogical goals of art, ethics, history and literature in medical education, how these disciplines should be integrated with each other in medical education, and how they can best be integrated into undergraduate and graduate medical education. The authors present recommendations arising from a discussion centred around three main themes. The main aim of medical education in ethics and the humanities is to promote humanistic skills and a professional attitude among doctors. Patient-centred skills enable students to become medical professionals, while critical thinking skills help students to critically evaluate the concept and implementation of medical professionalism. The implementation of a comprehensive medical ethics and humanities curriculum in medical school and residencies requires clear direction and academic support and should be based on clear goals and objectives that can be credibly assessed. The expert panel agreed that education in medical ethics and humanities is essential for the professional development of medicine.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1734063/pdf/v031p00739.pdf