How Do We Humanize Medicine?

A Duke program seeks to foster the character, imagination, and practices required to practice medicine.

Two ReMed fellows study an art work, “Pink-Face” by Susan Rothenberg, at the North Carolina Museum of Art
Photo credit: Victoria Yunez Behm

This is a summary of a story written by Reese Ritter on Duke Kenan Institute for Ethics.

During her first week as a Re-Imagining Medicine Fellow, junior student Aditi Avinash shared an observation about the field she plans to enter one day.

“So much of the medicine is lost in the science,” she said. “Medicine isn’t designed to cure a disease; it’s meant to treat people.”

Re-Imagining Medicine (ReMed) is a summer program for Duke undergraduates who plan to enter health care-related fields. It begins with an immersive week on campus in May, which includes sessions in movement and dance, storytelling, and more.

During the immersive week, the fellows visit the North Carolina Museum of Art, where they observe works of art and consider how they connect to their own personal experiences. John David Ike, co-director of the Duke Internal Medicine residency program, leads the ReMed Fellows through exercises in which they spend extended time with a work of art rather than taking a quick glance and moving on.

By taking their time and fully observing works of art, students come away with lessons that help to prepare them to slow down and listen to future patients — even as systems constantly pressure healthcare providers to speed up.

After that week week, the ReMed program continues throughout the summer with weekly remote sessions, in which students continue to reflect on program themes as they complete an internship or another experience related to health care.

Re-Imagining Medicine is part of The Purpose Project at Duke, a partnership between the Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke Divinity School, and the Office of the Provost, with funding from The Duke Endowment.

For more information about Re-Imagining Medicine visit the Duke Kenan Institute for Ethics.