극장, 소통과 공감의 임상 학습 공간 -<위트>의 질병체험 서사와 의료인 교육 사례들을 중심으로

Abstract

The theater is a place to watch plays and a classroom to learn human truths. In Wit, playwright Margaret Edson juxtaposes hospital scenes and monologues of the protagonist allowing the audience to both observe the irony of the medical field and to listen to the reflecting thoughts of the patient, which makes this an original piece of learning material in Medical Humanities. Medical workers, who connect with patients using illness as a medium, need to acquire not only medical knowledge, but philosophical acumen on issues of illness and death, empathy for patient’s physical and mental pain, interpersonal communication skills to cut down difficult jargon into manageable language. Thus, medical education requires a wholistic approach. Wit presents a fictional but realistic educational field to experience legal and ethical issues pertaining to the responsibilities of the medical worker and rights of the patient. This paper explores the value of Wit as a piece of Medical Humanities Literature and introduces cases of using the play in educational programs. Specifically, I explore The Wit Educational Initiative and The Wit Film Project, developed by American medical schools. I also illustrate how different contexts and cultures look at the issues presented in the play by looking at a case in Japan and my own workshop project in South Korea. The issues in Wit are varied. The list includes bodily, mental, social, spiritual changes that accompany illnesses; delivering critical news to the patient; methods and content of interpersonal communication dealing with medical jargons; discussion on choices regarding the final stages; bedside manners; pain management; finding meaning in a patient’s life and spiritual preparations to accept the disappearance of the physical self; receiving consent within medical ethics. I hope that the paper can expand the use of this play, which exhibits brilliant dramaturgy and credible depiction of the medical field.