CLIME Conversation Cafe: The Power of Film in Medical Education

Maren Monsen, MD

Dr. Maren Monsen is a physician, filmmaker, and clinical ethicist who uses film to share patient stories and shine light on challenging issues in public health and medicine.  Her films have been released theatrically and broadcast nationally and internationally, screened at Sundance, Cannes, the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, and several TEDx events run by Melinda Gates.

She founded the Program in Bioethics and Film at the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics which she ran for more than 20 years, and was the co-director of the Scholarly Concentration in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities for the Medical School.

She has worked clinically seeing patients as an emergency physician, palliative care physician and clinical ethicist, and has taught clinical and research ethics as well as bioethics and film.  

Dr. Monsen received her Bachelors in Art History at Stanford University, studied film at the London International Film School, received her Medical Doctorate from the University of Washington, and returned to Stanford to complete her residency in Emergency Medicine and a fellowship in Palliative Care and Clinical Ethics.

This Conversation Café explored the powerful role that film can play in medical education, examining how visual storytelling can be used to illuminate complex bioethical issues, foster empathy, and spark meaningful discussion. Through the lens of cinema, participants considered how narrative can be a vehicle for advocacy and a tool for engaging with the emotional and humanistic dimensions of medicine

WATCH THE RECORDING

Recorded on Janaury 30,2024, Captions Available