Rutherford, BR; Hellerstein, DJ Divergent fates of the medical humanities in psychiatry and internal medicine: Should psychiatry be rehumanized? ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY, 32 (3): 206-213 MAY-JUN 2008

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: brr8 at columbia.edu

Author(s): Rutherford, BR (Rutherford, Bret R.); Hellerstein, DJ 
(Hellerstein, David J.) 

Title: Divergent fates of the medical humanities in psychiatry and 
internal medicine: Should psychiatry be rehumanized? 

Source: ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY, 32 (3): 206-213 MAY-JUN 2008 

Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

Keywords Plus: STUDENTS; EMPATHY 

Abstract: objective: To determine the degree to which the medical 
humanities have been integrated into the fields of internal medicine and 
psychiatry, the authors assessed the presence of medical humanities 
articles in selected psychiatry and internal medicine journals from 1950 
to 2000.

Methods: The journals searched were the three highest-ranking psychiatry 
and internal medicine journals on the Institute for Scientific 
Information's Impact Factor rankings that were published in English and 
aimed at a clinical audience. Operationalized criteria defining the 
medical humanities allowed the percentage of text in the selected journals 
constituting medical humanities to be quantified. Journals were hand 
searched at 10-year intervals from 1950 to 2000. Mixed effects models were 
used to describe the change in medical humanities over time.
Results: The percentage of text within psychiatry journals meeting the 
criteria for medical humanities declined from a peak of 17% in 1970 to a 
low of 2% in 2000, while the percentage of humanities articles in internal 
medicine journals roughly doubled from 5% to 11% over the same time 
period. A linear model increasing over time best fit the medical 
humanities in the internal medicine journals, while a cubic model 
decreasing overtime best fit the psychiatry humanities data. Humanities 
articles in medical journals had a greater breadth and diversity than 
those in psychiatry journals.

Conclusion: Medical humanities publications dramatically decreased over 
time in psychiatry journals while they more than doubled in internal 
medicine journals. These data suggest the need for further empirical 
research and discussion of the potential roles of the humanities in 
psychiatry. 

Addresses: New York State Psychiat Inst & Hosp, Dept Psychiat, New York, 
NY 10032 USA; Adm New York State Psychiat Inst, New York, NY USA 

Reprint Address: Rutherford, BR, New York State Psychiat Inst & Hosp, Dept 
Psychiat, 1051 Riverside Dr,Box 98, New York, NY 10032 USA. 

E-mail Address: brr8 at columbia.edu 

Cited Reference Count: 37 

Times Cited: 0
 
Publisher: AMER PSYCHIATRIC PUBLISHING, INC 

Publisher Address: 1000 WILSON BOULEVARD, STE 1825, ARLINGTON, VA 22209-
3901 USA 

ISSN: 1042-9670 

29-char Source Abbrev.: ACAD PSYCHIATRY 

ISO Source Abbrev.: Acad. Psych. 

Source Item Page Count: 8 

Subject Category: Education & Educational Research; Psychiatry 

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