Cardiologist Dr. John Harper of Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas hospital loves literature, so much so that he now holds an annual "Literature + Medicine" conference, which will be held again this month.
"Reading makes us better people," Harper tells the Dallas Morning News. "[A]nd better people are better doctors."
Harper also holds a weekly "Coffee with Cardiology" teaching session, where he introduces students not only to various cases during rounds, but essays and poems and short stories that might open their minds. And it's not just literature Harper encourages, but various pieces of music as well.
But why the humanities when there's so much to learn in medicine?
"I was struck when I practiced medicine how hard it was to blend science and still become an appropriately emotional person with thoughts," Harper said. "I read literature and poems and essays and found they helped me formalize my thoughts, to express myself better."
But Harper doesn't delude himself into thinking he's in the majority in the world of medicine.
"There are some who think I’m totally out to lunch," he said. "And that’s okay."
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