This interactive session engages participants to enhance healthcare education through a Health Humanities framework, emphasizing historical awareness, narrative medicine, and the arts. Using examples of humanities integration with content including anatomy and physiology, along with implementation of a Health Humanities curricular project from the Duke PA Program as models, we will outline strategies for embedding local historical and socio-cultural contexts into curricula to foster cultural humility and structural competency. Attendees will participate in hands-on experiences, including narrative medicine exercises, visual thinking, and literary analysis, designed to help learners deepen understanding and empathy towards diverse patient communities. Techniques demonstrated will help educators weave these elements into their teaching to connect healthcare concepts with personal and community stories. Expected outcomes include increased student engagement, improved cultural competence, and a commitment to addressing healthcare disparities. This session will equip educators with innovative tools to create more inclusive and effective learning environments, ultimately fostering better patient outcomes in diverse community settings.

This session addresses the critical gap in healthcare education regarding the integration of social determinants and community histories. In a landscape where healthcare disparities are prevalent, understanding the socio-cultural backgrounds of communities served is paramount. This workshop, grounded in the Health Humanities, provides timely, innovative strategies for incorporating historical awareness, narrative medicine, and the arts into health professions curricula. These approaches are vital for developing culturally competent healthcare professionals capable of delivering empathetic, informed care. As the healthcare sector shifts towards more holistic care models that emphasize understanding patient backgrounds, this session offers essential tools for educators to enhance student engagement with these critical issues, thereby addressing both current needs and future demands in healthcare practice. This is particularly significant in today's diverse healthcare environments where understanding and addressing historical and social injustices are crucial for effective patient care and community interaction.

Agenda & Methods
This session will be structured to maximize participant engagement through modeling, interactive learning, and action planning. The agenda is as follows:

1. Introduction and overview of Health Humanities (5 minutes)
2. Interactive visual thinking exercise (10 minutes)
3. Presentation of the Health Humanities project implemented at the Duke PA Program (10 minutes)
4. Hands-on narrative medicine exercise (15 minutes)
5. The walking tour – modeling and discussion of strategies linking historical context with clinical practice (10 minutes)
6. Small Group discussion - benefits of and barriers to integrating humanities into healthcare education (10 minutes)
7. Action planning - participants identify opportunities and begin planning curricular enhancements (20 minutes)
8. Wrap up, Q&A (10 minutes)

This format ensures a participatory and experiential learning environment, encouraging immediate application of the strategies presented.