Melody of genes: design and implementation of an interdisciplinary medical humanities course to enhance empathy, humanistic literacy, and professional identity in Chinese medical students

BACKGROUND: Medical humanities education is recognized as essential for fostering empathy, professional identity, and humanistic literacy in future physicians. However, in China, existing medical humanities courses often lack effective interdisciplinary integration, rely primarily on passive lectures delivered by humanities faculty with limited clinical connection. There is an urgent need for evidence-based interdisciplinary curricula to cultivate medical students' empathy, humanistic literacy, and professional identity. METHODS: We developed and implemented an interdisciplinary medical humanities course "Melody of Genes", which employs a student-centered flipped‑classroom, discussion‑based model co-taught by medical and arts instructors. A single-group post-course observational study was conducted over three rounds (2022-2024), enrolling 113 medical undergraduates. Quantitative data were collected using an anonymous post‑course questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.821), and qualitative data from students' written reflections and final reports were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Of 109 valid respondents (96.5% response rate), 101 (92.7%) reported perceived improvements in humanistic and philosophical literacy; 91 (83.5%) reported enhanced self-learning ability and critical thinking; and 92 (84.4%) reported increased empathy for patients and stronger professional identity as future physicians. Thematic analysis revealed that students valued the interdisciplinary discussions, the integration of real-clinical perspectives, and the opportunity for reflective writing. CONCLUSIONS: An interdisciplinary medical humanities course using co-teaching, flipped classroom, and formative assessment is feasible and associated with positive self‑perceived improvements in empathy, humanistic literacy, and professional identity among Chinese medical undergraduates. These findings offer a replicable model for the construction and innovation of medical humanities curriculum in Chinese medical education.