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Humanities in medicine; Dr. Randi Epstein

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Carrie Antlfinger
/
AP
Mike Knutson, 96, claps his hands as he listens to music on an iPod in September 2014. He was part of a study through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that looked at whether mood and behavior was altered when dementia and Alzheimer's patients listen to a personalized set of music.

Nobel laureate Eric Kandel explained the positive connection between the humanities and medicine when he wrote, “Biology of mind bridges the sciences concerned with the natural world and the humanities concerned with the meaning of human experience.” The healing benefits of the humanities have long been acknowledged and incorporated into medical care. Now, studies confirm that music, art, dance and writing aid in the healing process.

Guests:

  • Sarah Hinds, UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine artist-in-residence.
  • Dr. Richard Caselli, professor of neurology, Mildren A. and Henry Uihlein II professor of medical research, expert on the effect of the arts on dementia patients.
  • Ricky Kendall, UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine musician-in-residence.
  • Steve Schacter, professor of neurology, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Randi Epstein

Dr. Randi Epstein is a writer-in-residence at the Yale School of Medicine’s Program for Humanities in Medicine. Besides her work with medical students, she teaches an undergraduate class in the English department at Yale called “Writing About Medicine & Public Health,” among many other activities. Dr. Epstein is also the author of "Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank"and "Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything."

She has devoted her career to writing and medical communication and exploring the influences of culture, art and medicine.

Guest: Dr. Randi Epstien, author, professor and writer-in-residence at the Yale School of Medicine.

Katherine Hobbs was Associate Producer of talk shows at WJCT until 2022.
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