Should eloquence be taught as part of the undergraduate medical curriculum?

Abstract

The integration of the humanities into the medical curriculum over the past two decades has been widely adopted in the stream of communication usually within the realms of doctor-patient relationship. However, its integration within medical curriculum is inconsistent, and may only be present as an optional component in certain selected modules. The study of eloquence within medicine has not been described previously, we propose that its inclusion into the medical curricula will increase equality and diversity in medical training. We aim to debate the roles of medical humanities and the integration of eloquence into the medical curriculum. Integration of eloquence into the medical curriculum with the aim of developing written prose and oration could improve our interprofessional communication and bridge the gap for those from a wider social background accessing medicine.

Keywords

• eloquence
• medical humanities
• rhetoric
• curriculum
• public speaking