Literature as an Introduction to Psychiatric Ethics

Responding to requests for an earlier introduction to psychiatric ethics, the authors added “An Introduction to Psychiatric Ethics Through Literature” seminar to their institution’s first-year curriculum. The authors’ primary objective was to increase the sensitivity of beginning psychiatric residents to ethical dilemmas. The 11-session seminar was co-led by a psychiatrist and a literary scholar. At each session, the group discussed a short story selected by the seminar leaders, with the discussion centering on ethical considerations raised by the story and their relevance to the practice of psychiatry. The residents gave the seminar high ratings for its increasing their ethical sensitivity and the stimulating content of the stories.