Thinking outside the box in clinical practice

Abstract

During difficult times we forget that as healthcare practitioners we are immensely privileged. We have a job, with regular work and generally don’t have to worry about putting food on our families’ table. But from a humanities perspective, we also have front row seats on the drama of life and no two days can be the same. Yet as we struggle to master our profession, the day to day realities of the job itself struggles to master us. If we become ‘too hard’ we may be fully competent yet fail to discharge our duties properly; however, should we become ‘too soft’, we may find ourselves not being able to discharge those duties at all. Striking that ‘happy’ balance is a decision we each make for ourselves every day during our decades of practice. For me, it has been necessary from the outset to include medical humanities within the clinico-medical perspective of daily practice. My definition of Medical Humanities will not only include medical history but also, stories, films and plays. This article relates some practices which I have found useful.