Why Engage Medical Residents in Humanism Conversations?


Kawalpreet Kaur, Newcomer Women's Services Toronto; Neethu Varghese, University of Toronto; Cindy Sinclair, University of Toronto

Sir William Osler, considered the Father of Modern Medicine, was a renowned Canadian physician and a dedicated humanist. His enduring words, “the good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease”, carry the same profound significance a century later in contemporary medical practice. Recent concerns regarding the disconnect between patients and doctors, particularly due to a growing shortage of doctors in Canada, have been disturbing. Presently, over six million people in Canada do not have access to a family doctor, whose role is paramount to the comprehensive health and well-being of an individual. The increasing influx of newcomer immigrants and refugees from vastly diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, has created a unique demand for a more culturally sensitive patient-care services. The Canadian patient population has become increasingly diverse in terms of multicultural and ethnic backgrounds over the past few decades, particularly in larger cities like Toronto. In Toronto, more than 50% of the population consists of patients from visible minorities and cultural backgrounds. Evidence indicates that marginalized ethnic minority individuals bear the most significant consequences in the face of a shortage of doctors. For instance, the province of Ontario, which attracts a higher number of newcomer immigrants and refugees, is experiencing a critical shortage of doctors, and this scarcity disproportionately affects visible minority patient population. Currently, 1.4 million Ontarians lack access to a family doctor, and this is exacerbated by the challenges faced by practicing family doctors, including burnout, retirement, or pursuing alternative career paths, contributing to increased healthcare risks for visible minority and marginalized communities. As the medical profession grapples with the overwhelming number of patient inflow and strives to meet the healthcare needs of the population, there is a risk of overlooking the individuality of each patient. This shift contributes to reducing patients from being unique individuals with personal concerns and stories to mere medical cases or statistics. In order to counteract this shift, it is essential to promote a patient-centered approach by considering individuals as human beings, emphasizing on the person who has the disease rather than solely being disease-oriented. This approach aligns with Sir William Osler’s humanistic philosophy of the patient-doctor relationship. The objectives of this presentation are to address the critical need for human-centered medical teaching in residency education and to explore the utilization of the medical skills and expertise of Immigrant Medical Graduates (IMGs) to support interactive learning and preparation of doctors for the future of medicine in a multicultural Canada. This presentation also discusses how humanistic medicine can bridge the gap between visible minority patients and physicians, by fostering a culturally sensitive patient-centered care. The theoretical framework that underpins the objectives of this presentation is Sir William Osler’s humanistic philosophy which emphasizes focusing on the patient as an individual human being, thus contributing toward a patient-centered care. The humanistic interaction between the patient and the physician plays a critical role in patient care and the patient-doctor relationship. Several countries have integrated medical humanities into their medical curricula. Different approaches and modalities such as interdisciplinary teaching teams, recording student reflections, publishing student narratives, role modeling, lectures, dialogical teaching, humanism roundtables, mortality and morbidity meetings, training in interpersonal skills, reviewing video recordings of patient encounters, and small group teaching using standardized patients, are utilized to foster humanism in medical residency education. With increasingly diverse patient population in Canada, there is a call for culturally sensitive patient-centered care, underpinned by Sir William Osler’s humanistic philosophy. This presentation discusses the need for the integration of medical humanism in medical residency education, and the utilization of the medical expertise of immigrant medical graduates, to foster a culturally sensitive patient-centered care in multicultural Canada.

This paper will be presented at the following session: