The Healer’s Art
“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.” — William Osler.
The Healer’s Art course is a time-tested, studied, and proven curriculum, created over the past 25 years by the pioneering physician and counselor, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen. It is now taught in a majority of medical schools nationwide, and has tens of thousands of alumni. Dr. Andy Wooldridge, a Palliative Care Physician, was the driving force behind bringing this course to Vanderbilt. Abin Abraham (G1) and Maggie Axelrod (G1) both participated in the first offering of the course last fall. Below, Dr. Wooldridge, Abin and Maggie share their perspectives on the Healer’s Art.
Dr. Wooldridge: Being able to weave Vanderbilt into this tapestry by bringing the benefits of this course to our medical students and faculty has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding things I have done in my career. Going through the process of the course helps students and faculty create an emotional connection to their work, explore the meaning of what our own humanity brings to this work, and understand the healing power of our presence for both our patients and our peers. Ultimately, this allows us to bring our whole selves to the practice of medicine with renewed satisfaction and enthusiasm, while also being a healing presence for others in our lives. This approach to care can seem innovative and refreshing in today’s health care world with endemic burnout and depersonalization due to many stressors. However, this approach also taps into deep rivers of service, meaning, and healing that extend back thousands of years in our profession. This makes the content and process of the course feel new and exciting, while also connected to a lineage that is ancient and deeply-rooted.
Maggie: The Healer’s Art reminded me of the ideals that make medicine important to me. Namely, that through shared humanity we can help a patient to walk the journey of their illness and whether or not we can medically cure someone, we can always do our best to alleviate suffering. It was a beautiful experience to feel a part of a larger community with this shared mission, and to have a space to talk about meaning and the challenges we face. That sense of community is why I am interested in organizing a ‘Finding Meaning in Medicine’ discussion group. This student-led group will meet monthly to continue these conversations and to explore topics related to humanism in medicine.
Abin: The Healer’s Art course reminded me of the humanity in medicine. Through several sessions, we explored complex topics such as grief, awe, service and how we find value in practicing medicine. At times it was comforting to resonate in the universality of these experience while at the same time to hear the unique notes of each individual’s perspective. What surprised me the most was how much I learned about my own way of approaching medicine and how I can be of tangible healing for my patients.
A Spring offering of Healer’s Art will be held with the first session on February 6th, 2019, with a total of five evening sessions through February and March. Email Dr. Wooldridge for more information or click here to sign up.
If you cannot make all of the sessions for Healer’s Art or have already taken the course and still want to be involved in a discussion group around these topics, email Maggie Axelrod.