Center for Medical Humanities

 The Center for Medical Humanities (CMH) serves as a platform at the interface of health care, science and society. Hosted by the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, it provides a space for critical reflection on medicine as a science and as a practice, past and present, focusing on the social, cultural, historical and ethical dimensions of medicine, health and illness.

Medical Humanities provide insight into the human condition of health and wellbeing through a range of different lenses that include literature and the arts as well as a historical perspective on medical practice.

By developing and nurturing skills of observation, analysis, empathy and self-reflection, Medical Humanities can support and empower medical students as well as experienced clinicians and researchers to continuously improve the health care they provide. The arts provide another, critical means of reflecting on health and healthcare.

Engaging and connecting health care professionals, patients and citizens in a joint discourse Medical Humanities also reflects priorities and broader societal implications of medicine and health care and is a dynamically developing field of medical research, education and public engagement. The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences collaborates with the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences to foster the growth of Medical Humanities in Switzerland.