Since the new millennium, the medical humanities have become an international phenomenon. Universities worldwide are instituting medical humanities programs for the benefit of their students seeking education to prepare for medical professions, and organizations supporting medical humanities programs have likewise burgeoned. This article will briefly define the emerging field of medical humanities, including its impetus, theories, approaches and methodologies, and its leading institutions, journals and resources. The article will conclude with the recounting of a personal experience as a pedagogue with a scholarly background in English developing a medical humanities program. Collectively, these elements shall provide an introduction for English pedagogues interested in medical humanities endeavors.