M1/M2 Student Seminars

Medical Humanities and Applied Arts Seminars

The medical humanities seminars provide students with the opportunity to think about health care and the profession of medicine from the perspectives of one or more humanities disciplines, introducing them to some of the basic texts, methods, and questions the humanities use to illuminate a topic or problem in health care.

Osher is now offering our Cooking Up Health and Integrative Medicine courses as medical humanities seminar options in partnership with the Center for Bioethics & Medical Humanities.

M1- Cooking Up Health: An Intro to Culinary Medicine

Culinary Medicine offers a rich entry point into the medical humanities by exploring the cultural, ethical, and historical dimensions of food and nutrition. It invites students to consider how dietary practices influence not only individual health but also patient care, public health, and social equity.

Of course, cooking is also an art form—one that blends creativity, self-expression, and technical skill. In this course, students will experience how the artistry of the kitchen intersects with the science of nutrition and the principles of integrative medicine. This multifaceted approach mirrors the complexity of caring for the whole person.

Over five interactive sessions, students will prepare plant-forward dishes, reflect on the concept of food as medicine, and explore how culinary skills and nutrition knowledge can enhance clinical care and deepen human connection.

Note: This seminar series is grounded in the medical humanities, emphasizing the broader humanistic, cultural, and symbolic meanings of food and cooking. It is not designed to teach basic nutrition science or patient counseling, which are covered in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) nutrition curriculum. Students interested in applying culinary medicine in clinical care can pursue a deeper dive in our 2-week Cooking Up Health elective for M3 and M4 students.

Dates:

The seminars take place annually over a three-month period and include five sessions (typically from 3–5 PM or later), along with a service-learning component.

Please check back at the beginning of each academic year for exact dates and times.

Logistics & Considerations:

If a virtual cooking session is included, a gift card will be provided to help offset the cost of ingredients.
All culinary medicine activities will be plant-forward, reflecting principles of health promotion and sustainability.
Pre-work, including brief readings or ingredient prep, will average about 1 hour per session.
Students with food allergies or sensitivities are expected to exercise caution and make individual decisions about participation. Due to limited pantry resources, substitutions cannot be guaranteed. Students with specific dietary needs or concerns are welcome to reach out to the course faculty in advance to discuss possible accommodations.

Learning Objectives:

Analyze historical and cultural perspectives on food and health
Students will analyze how traditional healing systems and historical medical traditions utilized food as medicine and how these perspectives inform contemporary integrative health practices.
Evaluate the role of food in building community and addressing health disparities
Students will evaluate the cultural significance of communal eating and food traditions, applying this understanding to discussions on improving patient care and addressing food access disparities.
Analyze symbolic and emotional aspects of food in literature and the arts
Students will analyze literary and artistic representations of food as a symbol of healing, identity, and transformation, enhancing their ability to integrate narrative elements into patient care.
Apply mindful eating and sensory awareness practices
Students will apply mindful eating techniques and sensory experiences of food in clinical practice, using these tools to promote stress reduction and emotional well-being.
Evaluate ethical and sustainable food choices in healthcare settings
Students will evaluate the environmental, ethical, and health-related impacts of food systems, making recommendations for sustainable and culturally appropriate dietary practices.

M2- Integrative Medicine Medical Humanities Seminar

This dynamic course is designed to bridge the gap between conventional medicine and alternative healing modalities in an evidence-based way, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of the body-mind-spirit connection and empowering you to optimize the health and well-being of both patients and yourself.

Dates:

The seminars take place annually over a three-month period and include five sessions (typically from 1–3 PM or later).

Please check back at the beginning of each academic year for exact dates and times.

Learning Objectives:

Demonstrate an understanding of integrative medicine's core principles, emphasizing a holistic approach to patient care that combines conventional and integrative therapies to promote optimal health and healing.
Discuss how personal, cultural, ethnic, and spiritual beliefs shape an individual's interpretation and experience of his or her disease and its treatment.
Identify the major strengths and limitations of biomedical knowledge as applied to health care delivery.
Describe the evidence for mind–body–spirit relationships in illness and health.
Describe the basic concepts of the most commonly used CIM (complementary and integrative medicine) modalities such as herbal and nutritional medicine, and mind–body therapies, and of one or more of the widely used traditional systems of medicine such as Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine
Identify reputable information resources for CIM in order to support life-long learning.
Explain the importance of maintaining one's own well-being, modeling healthy behavior, and balancing the demands of personal and professional life
Locate, interpret, evaluate and use Integrative Medicine information, applying critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills.
Demonstrate an ability to utilize the principles of evidence-based medicine in analyzing integrative medicine approaches
Identify and appreciate the diverse cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions that influence patients' health behaviors and attitudes toward various forms of medicine.
Identify and analyze the multifaceted barriers that prevent individuals and communities from accessing integrative medicine services, including financial constraints, geographic limitations, and lack of awareness or understanding about available treatments.