Staff profile

Jane Macnaughton is Professor of Medical Humanities at Durham University in the UK and Director of the University’s Institute for Medical Humanities (IMH). She has been centrally involved in the development of medical humanities in the UK since 1998. She was part of the core group that set up the Association for Medical Humanities in 2000 with support from the Nuffield Trust and was its inaugural Secretary. She edited the journal Medical Humanities from 2002-2008. The Northern Network for Medical Humanities Research was established on the back of a meeting Jane initiated and chaired at Durham in February 2013 with the purpose of strengthening the visibility of medical humanities research and encouraging collaboration across universities in the North of England and Scotland. 

Jane currently holds two large awards from Wellcome: a Development Grant for the Institute for Medical Humanities. and a Senior Investigator Award for her project, the Life of Breath. She sits on the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group for established career awards in medical humanities. Her research focusses on the idea of the ‘symptom’: its initial appearance, development and evolution in connection with medical contexts, habits and technologies. 

Until August 2017 when Medicine moved to Newcastle University, Jane was Dean of Undergraduate Medicine at Durham University. She is now Professor in the Anthropology Department and interested in supervising work on the nature of clinical interactions, the development of symptoms, including breathlessness and symptoms relating to women’s health. She is a member of the Department’s Research Committee and the Anthropology of Health Research Group. She is involved in the University’s Equality and Diversity strategy as a member of the Institutional Athena SWAN Committee and the University’s Bullying and Harassment Network. She continues to be clinically active and is an Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University Hospital of North Durham working in colposcopy.

https://www.dur.ac.uk/imh/

https://lifeofbreath.webspace.durham.ac.uk/

https://www.dur.ac.uk/imh/blog/

• Medical humanities
• Embodied and emergent symptoms
• Movement and health
• Breath and breathlessness
• Epistemologies of health research

Authored book

• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (2007). Bioethics and the Humanities: Attitudes and Perceptions. Routledge-Cavendish. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203945025
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (2000). Clinical Judgement: evidence in practice. Oxford University Press

Chapter in book

• Macnaughton, J. On Treatment and its effects. In P. Louhiala, I. Heath, & J. Saunders (Eds.), Medical Humanities Companion: Treatment (1-16). Radcliffe Publishing
• Russell, A. (2021). Eloquence and Oracle’: Tobacco in Eighteenth-Century Life and Literature. In D. Fuller, C. Saunders, & J. Macnaughton (Eds.), The Life of Breath in Literature, Culture and Medicine: Classical to Contemporary (261-281). Palgrave Macmillan
• Macnaughton, J., & Carel, H. (2016). ‘Breathing and breathlessness in clinic and culture: using critical medical humanities to bridge an epistemic gap’. In A. Whitehead, A. Woods, S. Atkinson, J. Macnaughton, & J. Richards (Eds.), The Edinburgh companion to the critical medical humanities (294-309). Edinburgh University Press
• Macnaughton, J. (2015). ‘Elegant’ Surgery: The Beauty of Clinical Expertise. In C. Saunders, J. Macnaughton, & D. Fuller (Eds.), The recovery of beauty : arts, culture, medicine (175-198). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137426741_10
• Macnaughton, J. (2013). Becoming. In J. Gordon, J. Macnaughton, & C. Rudebeck (Eds.), Medical Humanities Companion: Prognosis (53-56). Radcliffe Publishing
• Evans, H., & Macnaughton, J. (2010). Intimacy and distance in the clinical examination. In R. Ahlzen, M. Evans, P. Louhiala, & R. Puustinen (Eds.), Medical humanities companion (89-107). Radcliffe Publishing
• Macnaughton, J. (2009). Flesh Revealed: medicine, art and anatomy. In C. Saunders, U. Maude, & J. Macnaughton (Eds.), The body and the Arts (72-86). Palgrave
• Macnaughton, J. (2008). Seeing ourselves: interpreting the visual signs of illness. In M. Evans, R. Ahlzen, I. Heath, & J. Macnaughton (Eds.), Medical humanities companion : symptom (71-85). Radcliffe Publishing
• Macnaughton, R. (2003). Clinical Judgement. In R. Jones, N. Britten, L. Culpepper, D. Gass, R. Grol, D. Mant, & C. Silagy (Eds.), Oxford textbook of primary medical care (205-209). Oxford University Press
• Macnaughton, R. (2002). Arts and humanities in medical education. In GP Tomorrow. (2nd). Radcliffe Medical Press
• Macnaughton, R. (2001). Why medical humanities now?. In H. Evans, & I. Finlay (Eds.), Medical humanities (187-203). Blackwell BMJ Books
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1999). Public morality and moral education. In R. Edwards, & E. Bittar (Eds.), Advances in Bioethics: Bioethics for Medical Education (17-30). JAI Press
• Macnaughton, R. (1998). The value of anecdote in clinical practice. In T. Greenlaugh, & B. Hurwitz (Eds.), Narrative Based Medicine. BMJ Books
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1998). Can we teach medical students to be morally good doctors?. In H. Evans (Ed.), Advances in Bioethics. JAI Press
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1998). Public Health and Ethics. In G. Scally (Ed.), Progress in Public Health. Churchill Livingstone

Conference Paper

• McLachlan, J., Finn, G., Sawdon, M., Macnaughton, J., Clipsham, L., & Douglass, S. (2009). Exploring the relationship between professionalism and conscientiousness.
• McLachlan, J., Finn, G., & Macnaughton, J. (2008). The Conscientiousness Index: An objective scalar measure of conscientiousness correlates to staff expert judgements on students’ professionalism.

Edited book

• Fuller, D., Saunders, C., & Macnaughton, J. (Eds.). (2021). The Life of Breath in Literature, Culture and Medicine: Classical to Contemporary. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74443-4
• Whitehead, A., Woods, A., Atkinson, S., Macnaughton, J., & Richards, J. (Eds.). (2016). The Edinburgh Companion to the Critical Medical Humanities. Edinburgh University Press
• Saunders, C., Macnaughton, J., & Fuller, D. (Eds.). (2015). The Recovery of Beauty: Arts, Culture, Medicine. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137426741
• Gordon, J., Macnaughton, J., & Rudebeck, C. (Eds.). (2013). Medical Humanities Companion: Prognosis. Radcliffe Publishing
• Saunders, C., Maude, U., & Macnaughton, J. (Eds.). (2009). The Body and the Arts. Palgrave Macmillan
• Evans, M., Ahlzen, R., Heath, I., & Macnaughton, R. (Eds.). (2009). Medical Humanities Companion Vol. 1: Symptom. Radcliffe Publishing
• Evans, M., Ahlzén, R., Heath, I., & Macnaughton, J. (Eds.). (2008). Medical Humanities Volume One: Symptom. Radcliffe Publishing
• Saunders, C., & Macnaughton, J. (Eds.). (2005). Madness and Creativity in Literature and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan

Journal Article

• Macnaughton, J. (2023). Does medical humanities matter? The challenge of COVID-19. Medical Humanities, https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2022-012602
• Malpass, A., Mcguire, C., & Macnaughton, J. (2022). ‘The body says it’: the difficulty of measuring and communicating sensations of breathlessness. Medical Humanities, 48(1), 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2019-011816
• Yoeli, H., & Macnaughton, J. (2021). ‘To more than I can be’: A phenomenological meta-ethnography of singing groups for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 25(5), 574-595. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320978520
• Yoeli, H., Macnaughton, J., & McLusky, S. (2021). Menopausal symptoms and work: A narrative review of women's experiences in casual, informal, or precarious jobs. Maturitas: An international journal of midlife health and beyond, 150, 14-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2021.05.007
• Harrison, S., Bierski, K., Burn, N., Mclusky, S., McFaull, V., Russell, A., …Macnaughton, J. (2020). Dance for people with chronic breathlessness: a transdisciplinary approach to intervention development. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 7(1), Article e000696. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2020-000696
• McGuire, C., Macnaughton, J., & Carel, H. (2020). The Color of Breath. Literature and Medicine, 38(2), 233-238. https://doi.org/10.1353/lm.2020.0015
• Macnaughton, J. (2020). Making Breath Visible: Reflections on Relations between Bodies, Breath and World in the Critical Medical Humanities. Body & Society, 26(2), 30-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034x20902526
• Yoeli, H., Robson, M., McLusky, S., & Macnaughton, J. (2020). Arts as Treatment? Innovation and resistance within an emerging movement. Nordic Journal of Arts, Culture and Health, 2(02), 91-106. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2535-7913-2020-02-02
• Malpass, A., Dodd, J., Feder, G., Macnaughton, J., Rose, A., Walker, O., …Carel, H. (2019). Disrupted breath, songlines of breathlessness: an interdisciplinary response. Medical Humanities, 45(3), 294-303. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2018-011631
• Oxley, R., Harrison, S. L., Rose, A., & Macnaughton, J. (2019). The meaning of the name of ‘pulmonary rehabilitation’ and its influence on engagement with individuals with chronic lung disease. Chronic Respiratory Disease, 16, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1479973119847659
• Macnaughton, J. (2017). The past, present, and future of medical humanities. postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies, 8(2), 234-239. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41280-017-0050-6
• Rose, A., Duschinsky, R., & Macnaughton, J. (2017). Cynicism as a strategic virtue. The Lancet, 389(10070), 692-693. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2817%2930349-5
• Oxley, R., & Macnaughton, J. (2016). Inspiring change: humanities and social science insights into the experience and management of breathlessness. Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care, 10(3), 256-261. https://doi.org/10.1097/spc.0000000000000221
• Wainwright, M., & Macnaughton, J. (2013). Is a qualitative perspective missing from COPD guidelines?. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 1(6), 441-442. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-2600%2813%2970171-1
• Macnaughton, J., Carro-Ripalda, S., & Russell, A. (2012). ‘Risking enchantment’: how are we to view the smoking person?. Critical Public Health, 22(4), 455-469. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2012.706260
• Carel, H., & Macnaughton, J. (2012). “How do you feel?”: oscillating perspectives in the clinic. The Lancet, 379(9834), 2334-2335. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2812%2961007-1
• Raw, A., Lewis, S., Russell, A., & Macnaughton, J. (2012). A Hole in the Heart: confronting the drive for evidence-based impact research in arts in health. Arts and Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice, 4(2), 97-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2011.619991
• Macnaughton, J. (2011). Medical humanities’ challenge to medicine. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 17(5), 927-932. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01728.x
• Atkinson, S., Macnaughton, J., Saunders, C., & Evans, M. (2010). Cool Intimacies of Care for Contemporary Clinical Practice. The Lancet, 376(9754), 1732-1733. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2810%2962123-x
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, J. (2009). In defence of professional judgement,. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 15(5), 328-331. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.bp.108.005926
• Macnaughton, R. (2009). The dangerous practice of empathy. The Lancet, 373(9679), 1940-1941. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2809%2961055-2
• McLachlan, J. C., Finn, G. M., & Macnaughton, J. (2009). The Conscientiousness Index: A Novel Tool to Explore Students’ Professionalism. Academic Medicine, 84(5), 559-565. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0b013e31819fb7ff
• Macnaughton, R. (2007). Art in Hospital Spaces: the Role of Hospitals in an Aestheticised Society. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13(1), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286630701201962
• Macnaughton, R. (2007). Literature and the ‘good doctor’ in Ian McEwan’s Saturday. Medical Humanities, 33, 70-74. https://doi.org/10.1136/jmh.2007.000259
• Macnaughton, R., White, M., & Stacy, R. (2005). Researching the Benefits of Arts in Health. Health Education, 105(5), 332-339. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654280510617169
• Evans, H., & Macnaughton, R. (2004). Should Medical Humanities be a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary study?. Journal of Medical Ethics, 30, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1136/jmh.2004.000143
• Evans, H., & Macnaughton, R. (2004). Is there a role for patients' voices in the modern case record?. Journal of Medical Ethics, 30, 57-58
• Macnaughton, R. (2002). The St Andrews Institute for Clinical Research: An early Experiment in Collaboration. Medical History, 46(4), 549-568
• Macnaughton, R. (2002). Research in Medical Humanities: time for a new paradigm?. Medical Education, 36, 500-501. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01238.x
• Macnaughton, R. (2002). 'Arts and Humanities': a new section in Medical Education. Medical Education, 36, 106-107
• Macnaughton, R. (2000). The humanities in medical education: context, outcomes and structures. Journal of Medical Humanities, 26, 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1136/mh.26.1.23
• Kinn, S., Macnaughton, R., Scoular, A., & Noone, A. (2000). Chlamydia trachomatis: knowledge and practice in Glasgow. British Journal of General Practice, 50, 214-215
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1999). Should medical students read Plato?. Medical journal of Australia, 170, 125-127
• Davison, H., Capewell, S., Macnaughton, R., Murray, S., & Hanlon, P. (1999). Community-orientated education in Glasgow: developing a community diagnosis exercise. Medical Education, 33, 55-62
• Downie, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1998). Images of Health in Literature. The Lancet, 351, 823-825
• Macnaughton, R. (1998). Evidence and clinical judgement. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 4, 89-92
• Macnaughton, R. (1998). Medicine and Arts: let's not forget the medicine. British Journal of General Practice, 48, 952-953
• Downie, R., Hendry, R., & Macnaughton, R. (1997). Humanising Medicine: a special study module. Medical Education, 31, 276-280
• Macnaughton, R. (1997). Special study modules: an opportunity not to be missed. Medical Education, 31, 49-51
• Macnaughton, R. (1996). Numbers scales and qualitative research. The Lancet, 347, 1099-1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2896%2990286-x
• Macnaughton, R. (1996). Core values: doctor or everyman?. eBMJ (London), 313, 120-121. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.313.7049.120a
• Sullivan, F., & Macnaughton, R. (1996). Evidence in consultations: interpreted and individualised. The Lancet, 348, 941-43
• Macnaughton, R. (1995). The ultimate course: the doctor as patient. Journal of Medical Ethics, 21(5), 278-280. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.21.5.278
• Macnaughton, R. (1995). Anecdotes and Empiricism. British Journal of General Practice, 45, 571-572

Presentation

• McLachlan, J., Finn, G., & Macnaughton, J. (2008, September). Invited Speaker. ASME Annual Conference New Horizons in Medical Education

Report

• Macnaughton, R., Collins, P., White, M., Elliott, K., Soukas, A., Purves, G., …Coleman, S. (2005). Designing for Health: Architecture, Art and Design at the James Cook University Hospital. [No known commissioning body]