John Hardt, PhD

This is a synchronous, non-clinical part-time elective. it will take place during six 90-mintue sessions. 

Description and Course Objectives:
This part-time elective takes up the question of personal and professional identity formation within the context of medical training. The purpose of this elective is to assist and accompany students in attending to their personal and professional identity through (a) a thematic exploration of traits of attention and self-awareness and virtues of caring and persistence in response to corresponding challenging components of medical training and medicine’s practice and (b) participation in the practice of the Ignatian Examen—a brief, self-reflective exercise rooted in gratitude—that originates in our school’s origin and mission as a Jesuit medical school. 

Description of Activities: Students will attend six in-person ninety-minute sessions having read/viewed assigned material prior to each session. In-person sessions will resemble a graduate style seminar focused on conversation shaped by the reading. Reading assignments will include selections from literature and sources outside of medicine to refresh the mind and broaden our thinking.

Each session will include a ten-minute practice of the Examen. Students will be required to keep a journal of their experience of the Examen exercise in addition to their written notes on the readings to focus on things with which they agreed, disagreed, found beautiful, found to be a source of hope, or would want to remember.  

Elective Curriculum and Course Outline:

This part-time elective takes up the question of personal and professional identity formation within the context of medical training. The purpose of this elective is to assist and accompany students in attending to their personal and professional identity through (a) a thematic exploration of traits of attention and self-awareness and virtues of caring and persistence in response to corresponding challenging components of medical training and medicine’s practice and (b) participation in the practice of the Ignatian Examen—a brief, self-reflective exercise rooted in gratitude—that originates in our school’s origin and mission as a Jesuit medical school. 

Week 1: On becoming an Attending and learning to pay attention.

Week 2: On diagnosis, the clinical gaze, and seeing. How does one train one’s sight in the practice of medicine?

Week 3: On suffering, fear, and compassion. How do physicians handle all the suffering they encounter?

Week 4: On stress, cynicism and gratitude. Is there anything to feel good about in this process of medical education?

Week 5: On failure and hope. How do we account for failure, set-back, and mistakes in our training and practice?

Week 6: On fatigue and rest. Is there ever a time for rest and, if so, what is rest for?

Requirements

Read/view required assignments and participate in synchronous discussions and class activities.

Commit to maintaining written notes on readings and reflection on the Examen experience.

Serve as discussion lead in one of the six sessions.

Commit to not using technology—phones, tablets, computers—for the ninety-minute synchronous sessions.

The course will be graded pass/fail only.

Students will be evaluated by a narrative assessment on the basis of three components: participation (50%); written self-assessment/reflection (25%); fulfillment of discussion lead role (25%).