“The Role of the Humanities in Medical Studies,” Christopher Swisher Writes about the impact of the Medical Humanities in his Educational Experience

Christopher Swisher (M’22) writes about the impact of the Georgetown Humanities Initiative in his medical studies. In her testimonial, Swisher reflects about the tales medical students are told, as “each story of sickness we hear is unique, all are bound together with the intensely human elements of fear and hope”. Studying literature in the Georgetown Humanities Initiative courses helped him make sense of the joy and sorrow, life and death, that make up his daily life as a medical student. “My patients deserve to be more than a medical diagnosis or a problem to be solved; they deserve to be fully fleshed out characters with known and respected needs, personalities, and desires”. In that regard, the Georgetown Humanities Initiative provided him “with the tools to better understand and connect with my patients”. “Aided with an appreciation of the humanities, I can confidently reach for the beautiful messiness of their stories”, he concludes.