Comic books at the bedside: a unique day of discussion at the Faculty of Medicine in Montpellier

[Press release] - Published on June 2, 2025 in Art & Culture, Press Room

On Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier will welcome three comic book authors: Alice Baguet, Olivia Hagimont, and Matthieu Blanchin for a day of meetings, workshops, and discussions open to students and the general public. Organized in partnership with the Joint Documentation Service, this event is part of an innovative educational project that integrates comics into medical training.

An event to rethink healthcare through the^ninth art

Since 2023, the Faculty of Medicine in Montpellier has been developing innovative teaching methods based on comic books, with more than 250 works available in the university libraries of Nîmes and Montpellier. By recounting their own healthcare journeys, the three guest authors give a powerful and sensitive voice to the patient experience. Their stories, combining intimacy, reflection, and commitment, provide an in-depth exploration of the caregiver-patient relationship in its human, ethical, and social dimensions.

Through this event, students, teachers, and the general public are invited to explore the role of storytelling and personal accounts in healthcare practices, and to discover how comics are becoming an educational tool in their own right in the healthcare professions.

Highlights and program

Throughout the day:

• Comic book fair and book signings: informal meetings with authors, students, and health teachers.
• Stands: university libraries, student associations, bookstore "En traits libres" (open all day for sales and book signings).
• Exchange workshops (reserved for students): discussions about the authors' comics, led by faculty members, focusing on the themes of care, the caregiver-patient relationship, and bodily experience.

Closing highlight:

• 5:30 p.m. – Round table discussion open to the public in the anatomy amphitheater:

What does it mean to be a caregiver? To be a patient? What role does experience play in teaching healthcare?
A cross-disciplinary debate between guest authors and teachers, exploring the role of comics in narrative medicine and in the humanization of medical practices.

This event is supported by the Art & Culture department of the UM Campus Life Directorate, the SCD, the DUMG, the UM Faculty of Medicine, and the student health associations of Montpellier and Nîmes.