The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier is setting up a new Teaching Unit (UE) focused on empathy and mental health for medical students.
World Wellness Day, celebrated on June 12, is an opportunity to discover the new "Interpersonal Skills and Therapeutic Communication" teaching unit at the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine. On the initiative of Dr. Amandine Luquiens and Professor Céline Bourgier, the teaching program focuses on empathy and offers students courses such as an introduction to meditation, theater workshops, and simulation workshops. This unique teaching approach will be used to assess students as part of their curriculum.
Why teach wellness?
Since 2020, as part of their Clinical Competency Certificate (C3), medical students have been assessed on the skills they have acquired during their internships, specifically their interpersonal skills and empathy. After noting that no teaching to date was entirely dedicated to the development of these particular skills, and also after observing that students' empathy tended to wane throughout their studies, Dr. Amandine Luquiens and Prof. Céline Bourgier joined forces to lead this innovative teaching project. The aim is to enable students to take care of themselves, just as the University and the Faculty take care of them.
A project focused on student well-being
This new teaching unit is a real asset for students, both for their personal and professional well-being. The modules are designed to help students feel mentally well. Structured around four main themes—“introduction to meditation,” “practice exchange,” “therapeutic communication,” and “combating stigma in healthcare”—the teaching unit encourages open discussion and a better understanding of communication within a team. Through workshops, theoretical courses, and presentations by former students, they are given tools to prevent psychosocial risks, both for patients and for themselves. In addition, this teaching allows them to develop the skills necessary to improve the quality of care by instilling in them a person-centered approach rather than one focused solely on symptoms and pathologies.
" We seek to acculturate students, and even the Faculty as a whole. The faculty takes care of its students and students, and they must take care of themselves. We will therefore help them to acquire tools that will both protect them and curb "emotional suppression": a management strategy used for many years by doctors to understand the patient-caregiver relationship," emphasizes Dr. Amandine Luquiens.
Well-being: a comprehensive vision of the Faculty for its students
The introduction of the " interpersonal skills and therapeutic communication" course within the medical curriculum is an innovative educational initiative that is part of a broader vision focused on the interpersonal skills and well-being of medical students. Since 2013, a theater workshop, now part of this course, has been organized in collaboration with the École Nationale Supérieure d'Art Dramatique de Montpellier to prepare students for difficult conversations.
In addition, a week dedicated to well-being and relaxation called "Pep's Week" is organized each year by the Montpellier Health Tutoring Association for PASS and LAS students. Each edition offers a variety of activities such as yoga sessions, board games, and sophrology workshops, involving qualified facilitators for moments of exchange and sharing between students and tutors.
Proof, if ever it were needed, that the Faculty places emphasis on the well-being of all: from professional interpersonal skills with better mastery of relationships between peers and with patients, to individual well-being for a better personal balance.
Practical information:
More information about the EU Savoir Être: