The Mission of the Department of Medical Humanities is to ensure critical dialog about health, health care and the human condition.

The Department of Medical Humanities at Southern Illinois University offers a curriculum designed to provide medical students with a core knowledge in the humanities, emphasizing application of the content and methodologies of humanities disciplines to the practice of medicine. These humanities disciplines include: ethics, health policy, medical history, medical jurisprudence, psychosocial care, and religious studies.

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The first 2-week Medical Humanities clerkship for Year 3 begins on December 9, 8:30 am, in the South Auditorium.

And look for our second 2-week clerkship for Year 3 to begin on January 6.

Both clerkships will be available on D2L. For questions, please contact Jo Powers, Curriculum Coordinator or Kelly Armstrong, PhD, Year 3 Clerkship Director. Phone: 545-4261.

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September 7, 2013

Dr. Christine Todd delivered the opening remarks and participated in Professional Responsibility Day, a joint professiionalism activity held jointly by the SIU School of Law and the SIU School of Medicine. Click here to read the speech.

August 16, 2013

Dr. Christine Todd delivered the Keynote Address for the White Coat Ceremony at the SIU School of Medicine. Click here to hear the Keynote Address.

August 1, 2013

Medical Humanities welcomes Christine Todd, MD, as new department chair.

	Christine Todd, MD, FACP, FHM

A 1993 graduate of the SIU School of Medicine, Dr. Todd is an associate professor at SIU. She started at the school of medicine as an assistant professor of internal medicine and family and community medicine in 1997. In 2006, she became director of the hospitalist program in the Department of Medicine. She also served as chair of the Department of Medicine at St. John's Hospital (2011-12, 2005-07), associate director of the internal medicine residency program (2003-2013), a general internist at the Family Medical Center, Mason City, Illinois (1997-2000) and director of the rural health partnership mobile clinic in Logan County, Illinois (1997-2000).

Dr. Todd completed her residency in internal medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio, serving as chief resident in 1997.

In addition to her medical degree from SIU's School of Medicine, Dr. Todd holds a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago (1989).

Dr. Todd is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP), a fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicne, and a member of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine of Health and Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She received the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicne Award in 2012.

Dr. Todd may be reached in the Department of Medical Humanities at 217.545.4261.

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September 6, 2012

SIU Med School Offers Concurrent Degree in Medicine, Public Health

Two freshman students are participating in a new concurrent degree program in medicine and public health at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. This program is a joint program of SIU School of Medicine and the SIUC College of Education and Human Services. At the end of the five-year MD/MPH program, students will receive a doctor of medicine degree and a master’s degree in public health.

The MD/MPH program is a combined effort of the SIU Departments of Internal Medicine, Family & Community Medicine and Medical Humanities, said Wiley Jenkins, Ph.D., co-director of the MD/MPH Program in Springfield and research associate professor in family medicine. “Public Health is a growing priority for the School of Medicine,”  said Jenkins. “This program will allow us to educate students about caring for not only individual patients but also about caring for and understanding the health of the community as a whole.”

Stephen Brown, Ph.D., is the co-director  of the program at SIU Carbondale and associate professor of public health education. “The Affordable Care Act is pushing for more cross-section between public health and medicine, so this program fits nicely at the federal level as well as for Illinois.”

The program takes place on both the SIU Carbondale and Springfield campuses. Students will first study a public health curriculum for three semesters in the Department of Health Education and Recreation at SIU Carbondale. Preventive medicine, public health and health policy are among the areas of study. “Future physicians need to have an understanding of how these factors relate to affect the health of the population,” Brown said. “The goal is for the students to be advocates for public health in whatever medical setting they pursue in their careers.”

Following the year of public health training, students will remain in Carbondale during the second year of the program, when they will begin their medical school training. The remaining three years will continue the medical curriculum in Springfield and will include specially-designed electives. A 6-8 week practicum with state and local health departments will be required during the final year of training. The practicum will focus on leadership skills and program planning.

The first students admitted to the program are Stephen Brandt, son of James and Maureen Brandt of Bloomington and Evyn Neumeister, daughter of Dr. Michael and Nadine Neumeister of Springfield.

The program is modeled after SIU School of Medicine’s dual-degree program, the MD/JD program. Upon completing this six-year curriculum, students receive degrees in medicine and law.

(From the Office of Public Affairs)

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The annual Pearson Lecture presented the psychological horror drama, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Aasne Vigesaa performed in and Kevin Percell directed the one-woman adaptation of the short story on September 20, 2012 in the South Auditorium, 801 N. Rutledge.

	Director Kevin Percell (l), performer Aasne Vigesaa, and SIU's Phillip Davis, PhD, discuss the stage setting for The Yellow Wallpaper in the South Auditorium at SIU's School of Medicine.

Garwin Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and Medicine, Professor Eleanor Kinney

The Department of Medical Humanities is pleased to share that, during the 2012-13 academic year, the Southern Illinois University School of Law Center for Health Law will be welcoming to campus Professor Eleanor Kinney as the Garwin Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law and Medicine.

Eleanor was the founding Director of the internationally-recognized William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, and is one of the nation’s leading experts on health law. A widely published author and respected lecturer on the subjects of America’s health care system, medical malpractice, comparative health law, health coverage for the poor, and administrative law, Professor Kinney is author or co-author of countless law review articles, book chapters, and book reviews.

Department News

Through a grant from the Consortium of Academic and Research Library in
Illinois (CARLI) to the Medical Library, the Department of Medical
Humanities' journal:Caduceus, has been digitized and is now available
through the Internet Archives (IA). All issues are available in multiple
formats, including IA's read online, pdf, epub, and Kindle, among others.