Humanizing Healthcare: UC Irvine’s Medical Humanities and Arts Program

During medical school, students load up on courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology and pharmacology. They work on cadavers to practice what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience through their residency.

“We often think about the early years of medical school as primarily science-based work focused on identifying anatomy, diagnosing diseases and pathologies, and reviewing treatment options,” says Juliet McMullin, PhD, a professor of family medicine in the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “Students often share that they come to med school to help people, but then, with all they are learning, that goal gets compartmentalized.”

For more than 25 years, UC Irvine has helped students maintain a human-centered perspective through its Medical Humanities and Arts Program (MHAP). Launched in 1999, MHAP helps future physicians foster a “whole person” approach to care.

“MHAP keeps the goal of helping people at the forefront of students’ medical education. The program offers this generative space to support creativity, compassion, empathy and collaboration,” says McMullin, who took over as MHAP director in 2022. “We don’t want to be siloed. The humanities are essential to everything we do in the practice of medicine.”

Recentering the Human Narrative

Patients don’t want to be viewed as just a number or disease diagnosis. “Good care involves careful listening and understanding the full context of the patient, being with them in some of the most joyful and most heartbreaking times,” says McMullin. “We don’t want to compartmentalize or depersonalize what is happening in those moments, so we create an intentional space where student doctors can reflect on their experiences.”

For the 20 or so students enrolled in the program, MHAP offers a required and elective curriculum that provides these future physicians with the knowledge and tools needed to better connect with patients and build trust. Courses cover topics such as medical ethics, medical narrative and close reading, social determinants of health, spirituality in medicine, and patient advocacy.

Micayla Wilson, a third-year medical student and scholar of PRIME LEAD-ABC (Leadership Education to Advance Doctoring – African, Black and Caribbean), says that MHAP has provided her with a much-needed reminder to connect with the “person” behind the patient.

“In navigating the medical curriculum, which might dispose one to distill human experiences into numbers, algorithms and code sets — all while limited by a minutes-long clinical encounter — MHAP recenters the importance of human narrative,” says Wilson. “The MHAP curriculum offers me a space to practice presence amidst medical training, which pulls on my nervous system to do anything but.”

Omotayo Balogun, also a third-year PRIME LEAD-ABC scholar, agrees. “Programs like MHAP are essential counterbalances to the depersonalization that can occur in medical training,” she says. “They provide us with the language, tools and imagination needed to build a more just and healing healthcare system.”

Fostering Creativity and Connection

MHAP also supports multidisciplinary student-led projects that foster creativity and innovation and that build a sense of community to counter the stress and burnout of the medical profession. “Acknowledging the humanity of what they’re experiencing is so important,” says McMullin. “MHAP works to build empathy, care and compassion through narrative, creative arts and community support.”

For example, for more than 20 years, the student-led Plexus Journal has been uplifting and empowering students, residents, faculty and staff by publishing their stories, poetry, artwork and photography. More recently, students started the School of Medicine’s Humanities Interest Group (HUMIG), which hosts activities such as improv nights, art workshops and guest lectures on topics like medical anthropology.

On Oct. 6, 2025, MHAP is partnering with the Philharmonic Society of Orange County for a Music and Mind conversation exploring the power of music and its relationship to mental and physical well-being (reserve your free ticket today!).

MHAP sponsors other activities as well, such as art exhibitions, theater outings, workshops that expand our understanding of health, and symposiums on topics ranging from holistic care to birthing joy.

Balogun, noting her strong belief in storytelling as an essential part of healing, appreciates how MHAP encourages students to explore the human dimensions of medicine beyond diagnosis and treatment. “The MHAP curriculum invites us to engage with art, literature and embodied practices as tools for understanding the complexities of suffering and healing,” she says.

“In an era when artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly transforming the practice of medicine, the human-centered skills nurtured by MHAP — such as deep listening, storytelling, ethical reasoning and creative expression — are more vital than ever,” she continues. “These are the skills that cannot be outsourced or programmed.”

Inspiring Innovation

Since taking over as director, McMullin has drawn on her training as a cultural anthropologist, as well as on her research into graphic medicine. “We’ve added more elements to the curriculum that enhance their visual thinking skills,” she explains. “So much of what physicians do is visual. They’re looking at people’s bodies, looking at charts and X-rays, interpreting visual media … art is no different.”

This approach was on display at the 2025 Center for Neural Circuit Mapping (CNCM) Conference: The Changing Brain. As part of the conference, in collaboration with MHAP and the Pacific Symphony, UC Irvine’s Department of Otolaryngology hosted The Art of Science, an event featuring artists, performers and talks from field professionals about the intersection between artistic expression and scientific discovery.

“Research is about innovation,” says McMullin, “and when you’re allowed to see the world from different perspectives, in different forms, it gives you inspiration and supports innovation.”

MHAP also provides funding opportunities in support of such research. “MHAP helped fund my travels to the National Fulbright Conference in Denver, where I was able to chat with senators and advocate for global exchange programs and mental health advocacy for migrants,” says fourth-year student Mark Liang. “It has informed work that has helped me on the palliative wards at the UCI hospital and serve patients wanting integrative approaches to their healthcare.”

Similar to Balogun, Liang stresses the timeliness of the MHAP focus in today’s environment.

“More than ever, medical humanities is fundamental. It teaches skills in advocacy and research that are tremendously important for developing physicians,” he says. “This is not superfluous or supplemental work — MHAP makes for better doctors treating you and your loved ones.”

Learn more about the MHAP vision and support the integration of humanities and arts into medical student training by making a contribution today.