Jill Sonke
School of Theatre and Dance / UF Center for the Arts in Medicine
2012-2013 Library Enhancement Grant
Jill Sonke, Director of the UF Center for the Arts in Medicine, was awarded a grant through the Library Enhancement Program in Spring 2012 to extend the holdings of the Criser Cancer Resource Center (CCRC). Acquisitions funded by the grant will form the core of the interdisciplinary Medical Humanities Collection. The collection will feature resources to facilitate dialogue and teaching, provoking insights into such topics as the human condition, suffering, empathy, creativity, and self-reflection. These topics will contribute toward the better understanding and practice of whole-person and patient-centered care.
Resources will be available to UF students, faculty, and staff, as well as to Shands patients and their families. The collection will support coursework in the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and the Fine Arts, including the Honors Program, the Center for Arts in Medicine, and the Center for African Studies. Caregivers will be able to access the collection to prepare to address the social and cultural contexts of their medical practice. Moreover, patients and their families will be able to use the collection to develop health literacy, coping, and engagement in creative and health-promoting lifestyles.
New acquisitions will be added in the coming months to the CCRC, located in Shards Cancer Hospital and operated by Shands Arts in Medicine and the UF Center for the Arts in Medicine. The CCRC is also developing a monthly Medical Humanities Discussion Series to foster dialogue regarding the medical humanities across disciplines.