Humanities and social sciences

Humanities and social sciences

Complexity and criticality in medical education

MERU seeks to enrich the experiences of our students by supporting world-class teaching, research and evaluation through imaginative, innovative engagement with the medical humanities and social sciences. In MERU, we understand that patients, students, doctors and teachers are, first and foremost, people with their own ambitions, anxieties and hopes, and that if we are to educate our students and treat our patients effectively, we need to acknowledge their humanity in our practice.

Awards, grants and prizes

Giskin Day:

  • 2018: Doctoral Studentship Award of £97,692.00 from the Wellcome Trust (212792/Z/18/Z)
  • 2016: National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy (£5000.00 grant)
  • 2015: President's Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Excellence in Teaching

Research outputs

  • Petrou, L., E. Mittelman, O. Osibona, M. Panahi, J. M. Harvey, Y. A. A. Patrick, and K. E. Leedham-Green. “The Role of Humanities in the Medical Curriculum: Medical Students’ Perspectives.” BMC Med Educ 21, no. 1 (Mar 24 2021): 179. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02555-5.  

  • Leedham-Green, K., A. Knight, and R. Iedema. “Hierarchies and Tribes: Is It Time to Rethink Professional Identity Formation in Health Professional Education?” The Clinical Teacher, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13238  

  • Harvey, Pam, Neville Chiavaroli, and Giskin Day. “Arts and Humanities in Health Professional Education.” Chap. Chapter 49-1 In Clinical Education for the Health Professions, 1-18: Springer Singapore, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6106-7_49-1  

  • Day, G., G. Robert, and A. M. Rafferty. “Gratitude in Health Care: A Meta-Narrative Review.” Qual Health Res 30, no. 14 (Dec 2020): 2303-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320951145.  

  • Day, G. “Enhancing Relational Care through Expressions of Gratitude: Insights from a Historical Case Study of Almoner-Patient Correspondence.” Med Humanit 46, no. 3 (Sep 2020): 288-98. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2019-011679.  

  • Leedham-Green, K. E., A. Knight, and R. Iedema. “Intra- and Interprofessional Practices through Fresh Eyes: A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students’ Early Workplace Experiences.” BMC Med Educ 19, no. 1 (Jul 29 2019): 287. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1722-8.  

  • Day, G. “Creating Immersive Experiences.” In Playful Learning: Events and Activities to Engage Adults, 99-111: Routledge, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351021869 

MERU supported/funded research from the wider Faculty  

  • Horsburgh, J., and K. Ippolito. “A Skill to Be Worked At: Using Social Learning Theory to Explore the Process of Learning from Role Models in Clinical Settings.” BMC Med Educ 18, no. 1 (Jul 3 2018): 156. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1251-x.