By Sade Adewale, Ondo

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The Secretary-General of the Pan-African Writers Association(PAWA), Dr Wale Okediran, has said connecting Medicine and Literature will help develop educated, compassionate and caring doctors.

The medical practitioner stated this during the 9th Distinguished lecture tagged “Connecting Medicine and Literature: Reflections for University System and Health Professions Education in Nigeria”, held at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City.

The award-winning author noted that literature is relevant in debates on health, social issues and ethnic matters, and it is vital to the education of health professionals.

He added incorporating literature into the medical education curriculum gives health practitioners-in-training the tools they need to understand their patients and heightens (their) awareness about moral issues in medicine.

According to him, the display of visual art, especially images of nature, can positively affect health outcomes, including a shorter stay in the hospital, increased pain tolerance and decreased anxiety.

Speaking at the event, the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, said stakeholders that genuinely care about Nigeria need to provide more significant support for the efforts to produce health professionals in increased number and quality.

Akeredolu, who was represented by the commissioner for health, Dr Banji Awolowo Ajaka, further said it was essential to keep the production of health professionals undisrupted, saying this was why UNIMED was running throughout the eight-month ASUU crisis.

The Governor noted that the university had set the pace towards a deeper connection between the health profession and humanities sciences by establishing the first institute of health humanities in the Nigerian university system.

In his words, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, noted, “The integration of humanities and interprofessional education into health training curricula are some of the critical reform agenda being advocated for in medical and health professional education globally.

“These agenda are aimed, among others, at deepening the humane dimension of healthcare practice and provider-patient interaction, enriching collegiality and inter-professional relationships, and improving quality of healthcare and outcome.

He said the integration would lead to producing health professionals with respect, empathy, compassion and commitment to their patients and colleagues.

Fatusi assured the students that the arts and innovation fair would be a yearly event.