There has never been a stronger call for authenticity in health professions education than this moment in time. The health inequities laid bare by the COVID-19 syndemic (a concept that describes the clustering of SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease by political, social, and economic factors) compels health professions educators to learn how to best engage in, sustain, and deepen conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within our learning environments. Health professions curricula should address such concerns through explicit faculty training programs in dialogue models of communication. In this commentary, I propose that medical improv can help refocus health professions training to the humanistic values of empathy for others and respect for multiple viewpoints. Medical improv refers to teaching methods that adapt improvisation principles and exercises to enhance professional competencies in the health professions, such as communication. I describe a training series implemented at one institution to prepare faculty facilitators to engage in conversations about DEI in a discussion-based core course on the social determinants of health for first year medical students called "Humanity in Medicine." Key elements of dialogue training, including examinations of identity and positionality, caretaking and team-making, and conversations with a skeptic, are viewed through the lens of improv exercises as a pedagogy in communication. I report on facilitator and medical students' positive response to facilitator training and the Humanity in Medicine course. Potential next steps towards a formal evaluation of the method, and outcomes assessments of the use of improv in health professions training are discussed.
Keywords: applied improvisation; dialogue model of communication; diversity equity and inclusion; faculty development; health professions education; medical improv.
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