I love going to MLA every year because I always leave with so many fun ideas to try out at my own library. At the last MLA meeting, one of those fun ideas was a book club. I came across two different posters about interprofessional education book clubs:

• “Book discussion groups for health sciences interprofessional education: An interprofessional education pilot project” by Rebecca McCall, Jennifer Haley, Elizabeth Moreton, Lee Richardson, and Meg Zomorodi from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• “Reading today, leading tomorrow: An Interprofessional education book club” by Rachel Keiko Stark and Donna Jenson from California State University Sacramento

I’ve been a part of a few book clubs, and they’ve always been such enjoyable experiences. I thought it might be appealing to the students on my campus because it would provide an opportunity to read books that aren’t textbooks, and to talk to people they might normally never cross paths with. And the few articles that address the benefits of book clubs for health professionals state that reading fiction books helps to improve empathy and compassion for patients.

In consideration of peoples’ busy schedules and this article I stumbled upon from Lifehacker, I chose to set three short stories that students could access for free online, and that addressed health topics that could apply to any health profession. I found an incredibly useful database from NYU called the Literature Arts Medicine Database that included annotated summaries of fine art, literature (including short stories), and performing art. We settled on How to Visit a Healer by Jeannette Brown, Birthmates by Gish Jen, and Milk by Eileen Pollack. The hope was that short stories would fit more easily into a busy fall schedule than a full novel. Participants are free to read one, two, or all three short stories.

We’ll have our first discussion meeting at the end of the month, and I can’t wait to hear what people thought of the short stories, and of the book club in general. Stay tuned for updates!