sciences, so I expect we will see a difference in the attitudes and practice of future physicians. But what of the physician who went through the old system? Making a list of books to read to become more broadly informed and to enjoy the world of ideas and history and fantasy, and anything else you care about, is a good starting point. Even better is joining a book club, as it gives you structure, broadens your perspective, and demands commitment. It needn’t be a physician group—a mixed or nonphysician group engenders the same discussion and learning. All are effective platforms for discussing books, life, and the human condition. The book club I belong to, the Circle of Willis, has a monthly meeting, and this year’s reading list is in Table 2. Another idea we have found exciting is the Annual Autumn Reading Weekend. Janet and I have arranged one for the last fourteen years. We give prospective attendees (about twenty-two of them) a spring and summer reading list of novels, biographies, essays, short stories, and poems. We meet at in an inn in Nova Scotia in early October, when the autumn colors are spectacular, and we have some good meals, some wine, and a weekend of stimulating discussion. Our reading weekend is informal, with each person briefly introducing a different work, and the discussion begins. Each reading weekend has been magical. There are no wallflowers or domineering voices. One of our members provides a prize to medical students for creative writing, and the winning student is invited to the weekend and his or her essay is added to our reading list. (See Tables 3 and 4.) For an excellent resource for literature related to medicine, see the New York University Literature, Arts, and Medicine website at http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/ Main?action=new.
History
There is an increasing interest in history generally, so history channels, videos, and films are readily available on a wide range of interesting subjects. There is also a regular flow of books on medical history. Reading the book reviews in a www.sfms.org
journal such as the Bulletin of the History of Medicine is a good education in aspects of history as well as a window into the latest historical research. Joining a national society such as the American Association of the History of Medicine or the American Osler Society provides a link into the world of medical history and connection with a community of historians. The annual meetings of the American Osler Society offer three days of papers by clinicians interested in the history of medicine. You don’t need to be a member to attend or to offer an abstract. In most centers there is a medical history society that offers an introduction to a wide range of subjects, as well as a local group of colleagues interested in history. Our Dalhousie Society for the History of Medicine has been active for thirty years. The monthly meetings start with a glass of wine and then an informal meal. This is a nice chance to have interesting discussions with the eclectic membership and the medical students who attend (our Humanities Program pays for the students’ dinner). Following the meal, we have the presentation of two papers. In the beginning years we had three papers each evening, as we developed a large cadre of presenters; but two now allows more discussion. Both university and community physicians and companions attend, and many of the papers come from community physicians. Our students and faculty also present papers at national and international meetings. It is interesting to see that spouses enjoy these papers as much as physicians, and we have had some spouses present papers, and others who continue to attend long after the death of the physician partner. Your local medical library will have a section on medical history. An enjoyable time, and one that can open many doors, is to spend a series of hours exploring these shelves to see what is available and select a book or two. A physician interested in being involved with the history of medicine could start with History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction by Jacalyn Duffin, or The History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction by William Bynum.
Another introduction is a good history read, such as Michael Bliss’s biography of Sir William Osler, entitled William Osler: A Life in Medicine.
Music Many physicians came into medicine with interesting and impressive backgrounds and interests (that’s why our groups took them!), and it isn’t surprising that many have training and experience in singing and playing musical instruments. Music is increasingly finding a place in the medical humanities. For example, our medical school has a choir of about 120 singers who meet early each Wednesday evening and enjoy practicing for a series of concerts. It includes medical students, faculty and staff, and community physicians. They perform many concerts in the medical school but also in the community, and as I write this they are touring New Zealand. They have previously given concerts in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Likewise, the concert band is celebrating a thirtieth anniversary. The students flow through during medical school, but some of the community physicians have been there since the beginning. Within the music program of the Medical Humanities Program there are various singing groups and ensemble players who give many concerts through the year. One group received a grant to spend a summer traveling through the Maritime Provinces, singing at nursing homes and seniors’ residences. This project was spectacularly successful, for both the students and their audiences. The students are busy but say the Wednesday evening singing practice is a highlight in their week. The music program in the Humanities Program has expanded to an extent not predicted at the beginning. It has just celebrated its tenth anniversary and has a musician-in-residence choir conductor.
Philosophy, Theater, and Art
Practicing physicians can take advantage of many of the activities in the Humanities Program, such as arranged gallery and theater evenings and discusContinued on the following page . . .
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