title: [The dialogue between literature and medicine in the education of medical students].
abstract: On the basis of the conception that literature, like science, is an instrument of knowledge, the authors used some texts to underline the importance of dialogue between different disciplines. In particular, the discourse on the ethical significance of biomedicine fluctuates from the more established and deep ethics to the humanistic and anthropological ethics present in literature and vice versa. The aim of the work is to demonstrate that literature is an essential study for medical students. Thus, literature does offer the possibility to deepen the awareness of issues and experiences one cannot or will never have. An understanding of narrative can help clinicians and medical students in developing a dynamic relation with everyday complex stories of medical situations. The authors do believe that practising physicians should be encouraged to read critically; every medical and health care students need to be educated how to read in order to learn how to behave in everyday dialogue with patients and their relatives.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Bioetica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giardina
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Catananti
mesh_terms: D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching