Medical Humanities
The Medical Humanities Major is intended primarily for undergraduate students entering health care professions. The purpose of Medical Humanities is to provide these students with an interdisciplinary humanities curriculum designed to foster: faith and spiritual formation; an understanding of the complexity of health and healing; and respect for the cultural and pluralistic diversity in the University, society at large, and the healing arts. In its purpose, the Medical Humanities program maintains a strong commitment to the Christian heritage and reflects Baylor University’s broader mission statement that affirms “...the value of intellectually informed faith and religiously informed education...” in an “...environment that fosters spiritual maturity, strength of character, and moral virtue.”
Medical Humanities (MH)
MH 1303 Freshman Academic Seminar: Medicine, Meaning, and the Patient/Physician Relationship (3)
Introduces first-year students to the world of academics and the scholarly community through exploration of the major themes intrinsic in the physician/patient relationship. Emphasizes critical inquiry and thinking, research, writing, and problem solving.
MH 1331 Introduction to Medical Humanities (3)
Introduction to the interdisciplinary and wide ranging field of medical humanities, its subjects and scope, and the way in which it can expand and enrich the experiences of patients and practitioners
MH 1V9R Research (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of the instructor
Undergraduate research undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours.
MH 2301 Christian Spirituality and Health Care (3)
An historical framework for Western spiritual traditions, especially the Christian tradition, stressing the relationship between Christian spirituality and healing. (For students interested in Medical Humanities.)
MH 2V9R Research (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of the instructor
Undergraduate research undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours.
MH 3300 Visual Arts and Healing (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better or consent of the instructor
An overview of the connections between visual art, healing and health care, the role of imagination and creativity in medicine, including the critical viewing of art, class discussions, experiential learning, and a service-learning project.
MH 3321 Spirituality, Aging, and Health Care (3)
The spirituality of late adulthood and how this understanding can aid health care professionals as they seek to provide more effective care for patients with emphasis on emotional and spiritual tasks of aging, Christian perspectives on aging, and the role of health care in the spiritual wellbeing of older adults.
MH 3342 Medicine, Missions, and the Gospel (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better and upper-level standing or consent of instructor
An overview of the biblical mandate to meet physical and spiritual needs in the context of Christian health care missions.
MH 3V9R Research (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of the instructor
Undergraduate research undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours.
MH 4300 History of Medicine (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better and upper-level standing or consent of instructor
A review of the origins and development of medicine and medical science from prehistoric times to the present. Consideration will be given to the impact of major diseases on civilization and the emergence of successful measures of control.
MH 4305 A Biblical Theology of Suffering for Health Care Providers (3)
Cross-listed as HED 4305
See HED 4305 for course information.
MH 4319 Writing about Sickness and Health (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better or consent of instructor
Explores multiple themes of the human experience in healthcare through reading, discussion, and writing in response to selected poems, short stories, essays, and creative nonfiction. Themes include social disparities, mortality, mental illness, and the patient’s lived experience with illness.
MH 4351 Supervised Clinical Medicine (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Departmental approval required
Supervised weekly clinical service through various medical fields complemented by weekly seminar sessions.
MH 4361 Meaning, Money, and Medicine (3)
How personal finance concepts relate to a career in health care against the backdrop of Christian spirituality and values. The course connects "vocational calling" to personal character and discusses spending, debt, giving, paying taxes, and investing.
MH 4372 End-of-Life Care & Bereavement (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better or consent of instructor
This course critically analyzes how healthcare professionals are involved in the dying experience with patients, families, and communities. Topics include causes of death, trauma, spirituality in grief, complicated bereavement, hospice and palliative care, physician-assisted dying, futile treatment at the end of life, and cross-cultural sensitivities.
MH 4377 Supervised Hospice Care (3)
Pre-requisite(s): MH 4372; or consent of instructor
Hands-on hospice experience including shadowing hospice professionals. Must meet hospice employment criteria.
MH 4382 U.S. Health Care System (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better and upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Current state of health care in the United States including function, economic impacts, payment systems, ideas for reform, and issues related to patient safety and quality measures
MH 4387 Bench to Bedside: Clinical Trials and Translational Science (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of instructor
An overview of how basic science is translated into novel therapies with an emphasis on "real world" clinical trials.
MH 4396 Disability and Society (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Completion of MH 1331 with a B or better or consent of instructor
Critical reflections on questions of humanity, human well-being, understandings of disability, suffering, and care of those with disabilities, with emphasis on cultural, religious, medical and social perspectives.
MH 4V98 Advanced Topics in Medical Humanities (1-3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of the instructor and upper level standing
Study of advanced topics in Medical Humanities. This course may be repeated once with different topic for a total of 6 hours.
MH 4V9R Research (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of the instructor
Undergraduate research undertaken with the supervision of a faculty member. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours.