• Briseida Mema, Andrew Helmers, Catherine Proulx, Kyung-Seo Kay Min, and Laura E Navne.
• Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada. briseida.mema@sickkids.ca.
• Intensive Care Med. 2024 Mar 1; 50 (3): 427436427-436.

PurposeCritical care medicine is facing an epidemic of burnout and consequent attrition. Interventions are needed to re-establish the medical field as a place of professional growth, resilience, and personal well-being. Humanities facilitate creation, reflection, and meaning-making, holding the promise of personal and community transformation. This study aimed to explore how clinicians engage with a humanities program, and what role and impact do the humanities play in their individual and collective journey.MethodsThis is a qualitative study employing a phenomenological approach. Participants were faculty and trainees who participated in the program. Data consisted of (a) 60-h observations of humanities evenings, (b) more than 200 humanities artifacts brought by participants, and (c) 15 in-depth participant interviews. Data were analyzed inductively and reflectively by a team of researchers.ResultsParticipants were motivated to engage with the humanities curriculum because of past experiences with art, identifying a desire to re-explore their creativity to make meaning from their clinical experiences and a wish to socialize with and understand their colleagues through a different lens. The evenings facilitated self-expression, and inspired and empowered participants to create art pieces and re-engage with art in their daily lives. More importantly, they found a community where they could be vulnerable and supported, where shared experiences were discussed, emotions were validated, and relationships were deepened between colleagues.ConclusionsHumanities may impact resilience and personal and community well-being by facilitating reflection and meaning-making of challenging clinical work and building bonds between colleagues.© 2024. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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