Teaching and Practicing Humanism and Empathy through Embodied Engagement

Concerns have been raised regarding medicine's dehumanization of patients and providers and regarding the need to include, in the medical school curriculum, components that encourage the development of empathy and humanistic practice. This essay suggests that the development of humanistic practice requires attention to not only the cognitive and affective/emotive aspects of humanism, but also to the nurturing of intersubjectivity between the provider and the patient through strategies designed to promote embodied awareness. Several approaches to the development of embodied awareness are discussed, including puppetry pedagogy, drama, and virtual reality applications.