Dimensions:
Using Interdisciplinary Inquiry
to Develop Character and Compassion

A Presidential White Paper
Addressed to the Cornell College family
from Leslie H. Garner Jr. 

November 2005

“The care of the patient is 50 percent art and 50 percent science. If you are not capable of demonstrating concern, giving the patient confidence in your treatment, and communicating what you are trying to do to give them a positive attitude, your effectiveness as a health care professional ultimately will be limited. I am concerned that there is not a focus on the educational aspects of the art of medicine at any level before or during medical school.”  

Dr. Larry Dorr ’63
world leader in hip and joint replacement surgery and research and
founder of medical mission project Operation Walk

Last May Cornell College launched a program we believe will become the model for pre-health sciences education. It is designed to inculcate in students an appreciation for the value of character and compassion in health-related fields by providing students, both future health care providers and others, with a deep understanding of the political, economic, multicultural, social, and historical contexts of health care systems.

Cornell faculty and students worked with Dr. Larry Dorr ’63 to develop Dimensions: The Center for the Science and Culture of Healthcare. Dr. Dorr, a world leader in joint replacement surgery and research, believes that medical schools today overemphasize science and technology. Yet doctors and other health care professionals need to be strong communicators, writers, and speakers who can counsel patients with courage and kindness. Experience has taught Larry that there are many dimensions to effective health care—humanistic and policy-related as well as scientific.

As a result of extensive conversations with the Cornell College faculty about their interests and needs and future educational trends, the academic dean and a core group of faculty conceived of the idea of an interdisciplinary program centered upon the science and culture of healthcare. In doing so, they built together upon a sound foundation already in place at the college. Science education is one of Cornell’s strengths. As a small, private, liberal arts college we have the ability to build on that strength, develop exciting cross-disciplinary courses, and adopt change quickly. Momentum depends upon the interest of faculty and students, and in this case, the administration found deep support for the development of a rigorous and innovative program. Responding to this faculty interest in the initial concept, the Dean and I approached trustees with relevant professional and personal interests for financial support. Larry immediately accepted the invitation to assist the college and we are grateful to him for his commitment to the college and for his tangible support of this new initiative.

Larry has provided Dimensions funding for three years and is seeking further funding to endow the program. Its mission, simply put, is the creative preparation of liberal arts students to become informed consumers of medical services, as well as researchers, policy-makers and health care professionals who are devoted to the enrichment of society through science and service.

Dimensions is believed to be a first-of-its-kind approach to education concerning the science and culture of health care in a liberal arts context. It provides students with a strong foundation in natural science courses and labs and matches that with a visionary array of humanities- and social sciences-based courses and activities. Students explore issues such as empathy, communication, creativity, ethics, and the history and economics of medicine so that they ultimately gain a compassionate and well-rounded perspective upon the complex issues of health care. Students collaborate closely with faculty mentors, travel and conduct fieldwork and research, participate in internships, and meet and learn from renowned professionals—most often Cornell alumni. They benefit from individualized guidance through an expertly staffed health careers advising program and the Dimensions Resource Center run by a full-time staff member.

Five Premises of Dimensions

Dimensions: The Center for the Science and Culture of Healthcare is based on five premises.

Excellent preparation in the Natural Sciences
Above all, students benefit from broad and deep instruction in the traditional fields associated with pre-medical and allied health fields programs.

An Uncommon Infusion of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Cornell’s venerable liberal arts tradition allows us to reach across campus to create cross-disciplinary courses that explore empathy, communication, human relationships, socio-economic dynamics of the patient, and the practical aspects of health care in the 21st century. We are already offering or developing an exciting array of courses that will broaden students’ perspectives. Among those courses are:

• “Drawing: Anatomy and The Body,” team-taught by the art and biology departments, explores ways in which modern and contemporary artists represent the body, from scientific documentation to metaphor for the human condition.

• “Educational Psychology,” modified for students in the health sciences, assists in the understanding of how a person’s culture affects how they perceive and understand their health and illness, and, in turn, how a health professional can communicate with patients from varying cultural backgrounds.

• “Human Relations,” modified for students in the health sciences, addresses how individuals who are not part of the mainstream culture are affected in the health care setting.

• “Advanced Writing in the Sciences” for junior and senior science majors, is team taught by the English and biology departments.

• “Comparative Healthcare Policy” examines U.S. health care policy and introduces the health care systems of other industrialized countries.

• “Medical Anthropology” examines the treatment of illness from a cross-cultural perspective.

• “Health Economics” uses analytical tools to examine the structure of the health care industry, the production and cost of health care, and the behavior of market participants—patients, doctors, hospitals, and insurers.

Meaningful Integration of Intentional Learning
Intentional learning is more than simply experiential learning. It integrates intangibles such as professional networking, workshops on intricacies of the profession, visiting lecturers, case studies, meaningful summer employment opportunities, internships, study abroad, and service projects such as Operation Walk, an international medical mission project founded by Larry Dorr. It takes place in classrooms and labs and in practical, hands-on settings around the world.

Professional Sculpting
Dimensions reaches beyond the typical career services offerings at most colleges with discipline-specific guidance on careers and professional school options, extensive MCAT and GRE preparation, strong alumni and industry connections and networks, and advanced career planning services that begin in the student’s first year at Cornell. All of this takes place in a highly personal, individualized manner.

Success of Cornell Graduates
Cornell alumni are successful at the highest levels in virtually every medical field. The creation of Dimensions will elevate three outcomes: placement rates of graduates into medical and professional schools; the level of quality based on the names and prestige of those medical and professional schools; and the broad range of professional fields both within and outside of the traditional disciplines associated with health care.

Our vision for Dimensions is to benefit society by becoming a model for liberal arts students interested in health sciences education. I welcome your reaction to the ideas in this White Paper and urge you to visit www.cornellcollege.edu/dimensions for further information. If you are a health care professional and would like to be involved, we are looking for professionals to mentor our students, offer workshops and seminars on campus, create internships, and provide support and guidance on our programming. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.