Newsletter of East Asian Medical Humanities Network
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Newsletter of East Asian Medical Humanities Network Sponsoring Institution: The Institute for Medical Humanities, Peking University, China Issue 4 November 2011 Editors: Guo Liping, Wu Di Editors’ Note: The Peking University Institute for Medical Humanities is pleased to edit this issue of the East Asian Medical Humanities Network. We'll introduce one of our sev- eral centers in this issue: The China-US Center on Medical Professionalism. The 2011 Conference on the Development of China-U.S. Center on Medical Professionalism was Held in Beijing The Conference on Center Develop- During the meeting, the experts and ment, organized by China-US Center for scholars further discussed and summa- Medical Professionalism, PUHSC was rized the status quo of the medical pro- held in Beijing Fragrant Hill Hotel on fessionalism researches in China. Medi- July 2nd, 2011. Professor Yali Cong, cal professionalism, they stated, is the deputy dean of the Institute of Medical commitment of medicine as a profession Humanities, Peking University and vice to the society, should concern more on director of China-US Center for Medical the professional contribution to the de- Professionalism chaired the meeting. velopment of medical knowledge and Members of the consultant group and social development. While in China, we steering committee, including Debing have a long history of tradition that per- Wang, vice-president of Chinese Medical sonal virtue always comes first. The con- Doctor Association; Benfu Li, researcher cern of the personalized virtue, rather of PUHSC; Daqing Zhang, dean of the (Turn to Page 3) Institute of Medical Humanities, PKU; Yan Guo, Professor of School of Public Content Health, PKU; Minsheng Fan, professor 1 of Shanghai University of Traditional Peking University Chinese Medicine; Qiang Ma, professor University of Hong Kong 4 from the Red Cross Society of China, Shanghai Branch; Jing Fan from Ministry City University of Hong Kong 6 of Health; Quanying He, doctor of Peo- ple’s Hospital, PKU and Liying Shi, vice Reitaku University, Japan 9 director of the Liaison Department, Chi- National University of Singapore 10 nese Medical Doctor Association, attend- ed the meeting. University of Sydney 12 NEWSLETTER OF EAST ASIAN MEDICAL HUMANITIES NETWORK ·2· Introduction and history of China-U.S. Center on Medical Professionalism, PUHSC On October 20th 2008, the third China-US conference on medical professionalism was held in Peking University Health Science Center. The conference celebrated the inau- guration of the China-U.S. Center on Medical Professional- ism, PUHSC. Physically based on Peking University Health Science Center’s campus and in collaboration with the Insti- tute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) in the United States, the Center hopes to address issues of concern to the whole of China. The directors of joint center are Professor Yang Ke (Executive Vice President of Peking University) and Professor Da- vid Rothman. Professor Yali Cong and Liping Duan serve as vice directors. A steering committee will oversee the Center, and committee members drawn from both China and the United States. The notion of the Center first came to life in 2005. Through a meeting with Columbia Universi- ty professors, David Rothman and Sheila Rothman, Harvard University professors William Hsiao and David Blumenthal and Peking University Health Science Center faculty member, Linying Hu, Chinese and U.S. scholars started the series of exchanges on medical professionalism. The col- leagues of Shandong University Medical School, Xi’an Medical University and Shanghai Medical Ethics Association contributed much to the project. From the start both Professor Ruicong Peng and Debing Wang (both former presidents of Beijing Medical University before it merged with Peking University) made important contributions. Three conferences have been held. Professor David Rothman, Dr. David Blumenthal, Professor Sheila Rothman, Professors Zhizheng Du, Jinzhong Zhang, Yiting Li, Edwin Hui, etc. have played important role in the discussions at these conference, which, over time, have become more intense and illuminat- ing. The work at the Center will focus on an annual confer- ence, grant research and publication of the research results. The Center seeks to develop and shape medical profession- alism in both China and U.S., and to share its experiences internationally. ·3· ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2011 (Continued from Page 1) than the profes- consultant group of the China-US Center for sional function and responsibility of medicine Medical Professionalism are working togeth- in Chinese culture and social institution, er to publish one book which collects the ex- highlighted the very point that should pay cellent meeting papers, grant project reports, more attention in the medical professionalism related reviews and articles. research of China. Besides self-discipline, the Professor Yali Cong, chair of the meeting, institution building is indispensible for the made her brief conclusion and thanked all the development of Chinese medical profession- colleagues, presented or not, for their contri- alism. In the context of Chinese health sys- bution and support to the China-US center for tem, our researchers should know more, com- Medical Professionalism. During the past six municate more and learn more from the doc- years, she emphasized, our center is always tors who work in the clinic so that we could the leadership in the field of medical profes- go further to explore the problems and diffi- sionalism research and construction. Our culties of Chinese medical communication and exchange professionalism. of experiences with colleagues The meeting also an- nationally and internationally nounced that the Sixth Con- make us more confident and ference on China-US Medical eligible for what we are doing. Professionalism will held on However, the problems and October 17-18, 2011 in Bei- reality are so complex that, not jing. The sixth annual conference is of great only for the theoretical study, but also the ed- importance, on one hand, two grant projects ucation and construction of medical profes- sponsored by China-US for Medical Profes- sionalism, we still have a long way to go. In sionalism will finish and submit their final this way, our medical humanity scholars, doc- report; on the other hand, the topics will fo- tors, policy-makers, economists, lawyers, ad- cus more on the clinical practical perspective ministrators and people related should work besides the theoretical study of the conflict of together closely, and one more thing, always interest, medical professionalism and health keep prudence and responsibility in mind. policy/health system. China-U.S. Center on Medical Professionalism Furthermore, the steering committee and July, 2011 NEWSLETTER OF EAST ASIAN MEDICAL HUMANITIES NETWORK ·4· Centre for the Humanities and Medicine (CHM), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR The first munication research cluster, led by Dr. Olga half of 2011 Zayts. saw the Cen- When Ajahn Brahm visited Hong Kong in tre sponsor a February, the Centre was pleased to be a co- series of re- sponsor of “The Power of Mindfulness and search semi- Compassion for Health Care Professionals” nars, lectures and “Success Redefined”, which were well and conferences. Sander Gilman, Distin- received by the medical professionals and stu- guished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sci- dents. ences, Emory University, gave two talks on In April the Centre’s infectious disease “Upright Body” and “Seeing Pain”, in which cluster, headed by Dr Robert Peckham, held he discussed a set of interlinked claims about an international conference on “Disease and posture in modern culture and the history of Crime: Social Pathologies and the New Poli- “seeing pain”. The two talks were co- tics of Health”, supported by Lee Hysan organized with the Hong Kong Institute for Foundation, which explored the historical the Humanities and Social Sciences and the equation of crime-as-sickness and infection-as Department of Psychiatry respectively. Pro- -wrongdoing. Mark Seltzer, Evan Frankel fessor Paul Crawford from the University of Professor of Literature at UCLA was the key- Nottingham presented a seminar on “Mad Lit” note speaker and gave a seminar on “The Of- in the context of storytelling/narrative in men- ficial World”. Overseas and local participants tal health care and the notion of “applied liter- drew upon case studies from China, Korea ature” in medical/ health humanities. And and Japan, as well as the US and Europe. Professor Srikant Sarangi, Director of Health Communication Research Centre at Cardiff Professor Didier Fassin (Institute for Ad- University, presented a research seminar on vanced Study, Princeton, and the École des “Contextualising 'Communication' Skills/ Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris) Knowledge in Healthcare Research and Train- took up the first of his three terms as Visiting ing”, in link with the Centre’s Health Com- Research Professorship attached to the Centre ·5· ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2011 in May. Prof Didier’s remit is to advise in es- co-sponsoring a research seminar by Profes- tablishing a Humanitarian Studies Pro- sor Christa Jansohn, Chair for British Studies, gramme within the Centre. During his visit to University of Bamberg, on “Confronting HKU, Prof Fassin delivered a public lecture Plague through Literature: New Perspectives on “When Humani- on an Old Theme”, tarianism Goes to with the School of War” and gave a English; hosting a talk on “Global public lecture and a Health and Conspir- workshop by Pro- acy Theories,” as fessor Judith Far- well as attending the quhar, Max Palev- public forum, “The sky Professor of Art of Humanity: A Anthropology and Public Conversa- of Social Sciences, Prof. Didier Fassin at HKU tion”, sponsored by University of Chica- CHM at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical go, with the Hong Kong Institute for the Hu- Sciences in Sheung Wan. In March the Cen- manities and Social Sciences; and organizing tre was awarded a Post-doctoral Fellowship a workshop on “Diagnostics for Syphilis: De- position in Humanitarian Studies to further veloping a Model of Social Entrepreneur- strengthen its humanitarian research capacity.