Don't Kill the Messenger! Physicians and the Lay Audience

170.02 (1 unit)
Contact: Akhil Mehra, MD, MPhil
You can sign up here: http://student.ucsf.edu/gencat/HH.HTML Listing the instructor as Liz Watkins

Tuesdays, 5:00-7:00pm
Parnassus Room U-456

 
This course will examine the issue of translating medicine to the lay public, whether through clinical work, interpersonal interactions with non-medical colleagues, or through writing about medicine .  The target audience is medical students with clinical experience, although pre-clinical students and interested non-medical students are invited to participate as well.  We'll be looking at popular works of medical literature directed to the public by physician authors such as Atul Gawande and Jerome Groopman, narratives of the medical school and residency experience, the history of "medical public relations", and what science shows us about communicating to patients at large.  On the public side, we'll examine depictions of medicine in movies and popular television (such as "House", "Gray's Anatomy", and "ER" ), discuss patient self education in the post-Google world, and examine the application of  the "customer service" model to providing medical services.   Readings will be kept enjoyable and achievable for a medical student audience, and the class format is group discussion . 
(1 unit)