Sirridge Office of Medical Humanities
Location:
- M4-CO1, Medical School
The Sirridge Office of Medical Humanities was established at the School of Medicine in 1992 to expand the opportunities to provide humanities courses for both premedical students and students in UMKC's six-year BA/MD program and to foster the development of a variety of humanities courses.
It was initially funded and coordinated by Marjorie and William Sirridge, M.D.s, who were founding physician-docents when the School of Medicine opened in 1971. The Sirridge Office of Medical Humanities is located on the fourth floor of the Medical School.
The school received a grant in 1995 from the Culpeper Foundation to plan and develop an undergraduate medical humanities curriculum for students in both the Medical School program and in undergraduate programs at UMKC. Through the grant, five courses were designed to explore the connections between humanities disciplines and the healing professions. Three courses were offered in the 1996-97 school year and two more were added in the 1997-98 year.
Until 1996, courses were offered primarily in one-month formats to make scheduling easier for medical students in the final two years. Today, there are seven core courses offered in the medical humanities, some in a full semester format. The office also brings visiting speakers and performers to the school to enrich the environment for students and faculty.
Staff Members:
Lynda Payne, Ph.D., RN
Sirridge Missouri Endowed Professor in Medical Humanities
e-mail: paynel@umkc.edu
Marilyn Pesto, JD, RN
Director
e-mail: pestom@umkc.edu
TEL: 235-5239 FAX: 235-5277
235-6691, Center for Creative Excellence
Humanities
Newsletter:
Healing
Praises
(Accolades for Virtuous Doctoring –published by the
Gold Honor Society Students)
Students not in the six-year program who are interested in medical humanities courses can contact the office at the number above.
Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D.
235-5883
e-mail: SirridgeM@umkc.edu