Crump Humanism In Medicine Exposition Scholars (CHIMES)
Introduction by Bill Crump, MD, UGA Class of ‘75
It was time to take stock after a 45-year medical career where I ushered thousands of babies into this world and served as faculty for thousands of medical students as well. In my current role as a medical school associate dean, we had built a curriculum intended to support humanism in medical training as one way to produce more compassionate physicians (Crump, 2017, Crump, 2018, Crump, 2023). A broad review of the published literature on this issue showed that encouraging physicians in training to write about their interactions with patients increased measures of empathy (Trzeciak and Mazzarelli, 2019). The result was that patients felt heard and valued and docs were much happier.
At this inflection point in my life, I considered the schools and people who got me to this stage in my career. UGA was a key launching pad for me, and I thought it was time to give back. From my work in Kentucky, I learned that college pre-meds could also develop empathy by writing summaries of their interactions with patients (Engelbrecht, 2019). Working with my two UGA faculty colleagues, Dr. Kristen Miller and Dr. Lindsey Harding, we designed the Crump Humanism In Medicine Exposition Scholar (CHIMES) program. My donation supports this program, and we were truly fortunate that the student leadership of the UGA AMSA club immediately adopted this program and in fall 2025 it became a full-fledged student club.
In a small town with a large university, it is a significant challenge to connect all the pre-meds who are interested in such a program with individuals who have lived experience with the medical system, good and bad. Also, the wider the differences in cultural background between student and the person interviewed, the greater opportunity to develop the student’s inherent empathy, “stretching the compassion muscle.” We had learned previously that many individuals need to tell their health care story and benefit from a listening ear. Through some faculty at the UGA medical school, we connected with the next most fortunate and pleasant piece of the puzzle. Dr. Farris Johnson, an Athens native, had recently moved from his part-time faculty role to full-time practice, having built a stable practice over the last 35 years. He immediately latched on to this idea, and we requested his view of the project, shown below.
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
Along my journey of the practice of medicine, I have become increasingly aware of how much I learn from patients, students, and insightful and inspired colleagues like Dr. Crump. The CHIMES initiative has opened new windows of insight for my personal and professional growth. For some time now, I have experienced disquieting irritation-sometimes generated internally, but ofttimes precipitated by my interactions with “The Health Care Juggernaut.” While I am certain that the generation of my problem may be ‘ME,’ CHIMES has pointed a finger toward the pervasive erosion of empathy.
I knew Dr. Johnson would help us find individuals to be interviewed, but he went beyond that. He connected us with Dr. Betty Jones, senior lecturer emeritus at UGA where she taught Graphic Communication and served three years as the Director of 55+ Ministry at Milledge Avenue Baptist Church in Athens. Below is her view of the project:
“More now than ever, we need doctors who have empathy, who really listen to patients. Doctors who enter a room, never make eye contact, and spend their time typing on a computer, are not really treating patients holistically. I was intrigued by this project, and I chose three participants who I knew would answer the students carefully and engage with them about serious health issues. Following the interviews, my friends were not only impressed by the students but were surprised about how well they really listened to the stories. This project not only benefits future doctors, but also the patients they will treat. I was honored to participate.”
Now we were rolling. Not only would we be able to help a few students find someone to interview, but we would surely find those with lived experience that we sought. The students wrote their “My Story” essays, received feedback from me and my UGA colleagues, and then submitted a final version integrating the concepts of the social determinants of health (Braveman, 2014) and the culturally defined explanatory models of health and illness (Kleinmann, 1978), competing for inclusion in this special section of this issue. This year’s CHIMES winning essays chosen by Drs. Harding and Miller, included below, are remarkable. Each writer got deeply into the life stories of those they interviewed, and their compassion speaks from every line. Enjoy.
References
Crump, W. (2017). Professional identity curriculum at the University of Louisville Trover Campus: Reflection and meaning in medical education. The Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians, 88 (18). https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=381220&p=18&view=issueViewer
Crump, W. (2018). Windows to the soul: Now close your eyes. Journal of regional medical campuses, 1 (2). https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/jrmc/article/view/1034/1112
Crump, W. (2023). Pathways to patients: Students seeking meaning. Independent. Available online at https://www.amazon.com/Pathways-Patients-Students-Seeking-Meaning/dp/B0CM8B9BX5?asin=B0CM8B9BX5&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
Trzeciak, S. and Mazzarelli, A. (2019). Compassionomics: The revolutionary scientific evidence that caring makes a difference. Studer Group. Available online at https://www.amazon.com/Compassionomics-Revolutionary-Scientific-Evidence-Difference/dp/1622181069
Engelbrecht, A., Higdon, R., Marshall, H., Parker, S, Shelton, B., and Crump, W. (2019) A brief exercise in narrative medicine for preclinical medical and premedical students: My story. Journal of regional medical campuses, 2(5). https://doi.org/10.24926/jrmc.v2i5.2272
Braveman, P., & Gottlieb, L. (2014). The social determinants of health: it’s time to consider the causes of the causes. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 129 Suppl 2(Suppl 2), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549141291S206
Kleinman, A., Eisenberg, L., and Good, B. (1978). Culture, illness, and care: Clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Annals of internal medicine, 88 (2), 251-258. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-88-2-251
About the Authors
Dr. Bill Crump was born in Savannah, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia. He completed medical school at Vanderbilt in 1979 and then a Family Medicine residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He was on the faculty at the University of Alabama’s Huntsville campus for 10 years and then the University of Texas’ Galveston campus for 6 years. He has been in his current position since 1998 as Associate Dean for the University of Louisville regional medical school Trover Campus in Madisonville, Kentucky.
Dr. Farris Johnson is an Athens native and went away for medical school at University of Pittsburgh, residency in the USAF followed by five years as a Family Physician and Flight Surgeon. He returned to Athens in 1985, practiced Emergency Medicine for four years and has practiced Family Medicine since 1989.
Dr. Betty Jones is a retired senior lecturer emeritus at the University of Georgia where she taught Graphic Communication in the ADPR Department of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. In addition, she served three years as the Director of 55+ Ministry at Milledge Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, GA. Currently, she resides in Georgetown, KY.