What Does It Mean to be Human in Healthcare? Empirical, Conceptual, and Pedagogical Facets of Applying “Flourishing” to Health Professional Education

Abstract: In recent years, concerns regarding adverse mental health, low morale, and burnout among healthcare professionals, trainees, and students have garnered significant attention. While efforts have focused on mitigating the negative effects associated with healthcare education, training, and work, there is a growing recognition of the importance of fostering positive well-being within these spaces. Flourishing, a concept grounded in Aristotelian ethics, capability theory, and positive psychology, aims at human well-being broadly construed—including, but not limited to, happiness, relationships, mental/physical health, economic stability, and virtue. In health professional education, it proposes longitudinal collective facets of vibrant and sustainable professions beyond burnout mitigation and personal wellness strategies. Our panelists, who work as educators and researchers in healthcare and academic settings across the U.S., will offer a variety of perspectives on applying “flourishing” to healthcare work and education. They will discuss empirical, conceptual, and pedagogical intricacies of whether and how to apply flourishing in health professional education, using learners in the undergraduate and graduate medical education context. The first panelist will review empirical evidence and contemporary definitions of flourishing. The second will explore philosophical dimensions of flourishing with respect to the philosophy of medicine and how it applies to patients, communities, and professionals. The third will offer constructively critical reflections on the difficulties of applying flourishing in contemporary society. The fourth will explore the implications of prior insights for pedagogical strategies, including what is or is not/ought or ought not be the scope of a clinical teacher’s responsibility to promote flourishing among learners.