The question of teaching medical students, and in which form, has become more and more pressing and decisive for the Medical Humanities in the past years. Are 'Medical Humanities' to be considered only as an extended version of 'Cultural Studies' - hence as an optional didactic offer for students in literature, gender/postcolonial studies or philosophy; and maybe sometimes for individually interested medical students?
Or are the Medical Humanities a unique possibility to give all medical students an external perspective on clinical practice and medicine in general - on roles and rituals, ethical principles and communication practices? With this aim in view, the Medical Humanities should become a mandatory part of the medical curriculum; however, this is rarely realised and still an issue of debate and controversies.