The short-term goal of the "Wit" Film Project is to facilitate the incorporation of "Wit" into medical school curricula across the United States, in order to enhance trainee education in the humanistic elements of end-of-life care. Our experience using theater performances of "Wit" in the U.S. and Canada provided clear evidence of the value of the dramatic arts in medical education, as a majority of medical trainees viewing these performances regarded them as a superior educational experience to didactic lectures, readings, and even bedside teaching rounds. Moreover, the performances have the ability to share feelings that are difficult to access through other educational methods, exemplified by one medical resident’s post-performance disclosure: " . . . for me the most painful aspect of it is feeling that . . . cancer patients are a commodity . . . and that the personal relationship with my patient stops when he tries to engage with me and I have something that I have to be . . ."
Incorporating Wit into your institution’s educational curriculum will help trainees – students in their pre-clinical and clinical years as well as interns and residents – confront their roles not only as technicians and scientists but also as caregivers and healers. We hope that the film will promote frank discussions about the challenges confronting patients facing terminal illness, as well as those confronting physicians and other providers caring for those patients. We believe that by confronting the contradictory demands that trainees in academic medical centers face – objectivity versus compassion, professional distance versus caring, "not giving up too soon" while "not holding on too long" – trainees will be better prepared to care compassionately for their dying patients.