Care partner as teacher in the medical humanities classroom – Learning impacts of care through the voice of spousal carers supporting older persons living with dementia

Abstract

Background: It has been documented that family caregivers of persons diagnosed with mental health conditions are prone to heightened risks of depression and psychological distress. It is important that medical students are trained from early on to be aware of psychological needs of informal carers. Scholars believe that the move in current teaching practices towards involving care partners as teacher in psychiatric education could generate deeper learning in students and sense of empowerment in informal carers. Objectives: By the end of a workshop, undergraduate medical students would be able to identify stressors in the care journey, demonstrate empathetic understanding of the lived experience of informal carers, and reflect upon meanings of humanistic care. Practices: At The University of Hong Kong, third-year and fourth-year MBBS students received a face-to-face medical humanities workshop in 2017-18 and 2019-20 respectively. Each comprised a presentation on care journey by the spousal carer of an older person diagnosed with dementia, followed by dialogue sessions. After class, students each produced a handwritten personal note addressing their insights gained, which were graded by the informal carers in attendance. Observations: 187 third-year and 34 fourth-year MBBS students participated in the activity and completed surveys after randomly selected sessions. Students found strong relevance to their personal development as a doctor (mean score of 2.85/3 on a 4-point Likert scale reported in both cohorts). They especially appreciated the carers’ perspectives on dignified care and healing. Implications: By engaging spousal/family carer’s voice in a medical humanities class, future doctors can be more attuned to the psychological needs of this important group of health stakeholders.