Performing Medicine - Methodology

Performing Medicine




HOME METHODOLOGY PEOPLE TESTIMONIALS ARCHIVE SUPPORT CONTACT WHAT’S ON Open Programme Curriculum	METHODOLOGY Performing Medicine is based on the belief that engagement with arts can encourage: • Creativity and agility of body and mind • An awareness of the affect ones own behavior has on others • The ability to construct difficult questions and analyse information that has no simple solution • A questioning of one’s own cultural and ethical assumptions Our work can be divided into three key areas: ● Practical Skills ● Examining Cultural & Ethical Issues Through Arts ● Artists Working in Science & Healthcare Setttings PRACTICAL SKILLS Courses and workshops using theatre and movement techniques to improve presentation, observation and communication skills, focusing on the way participants move, speak, see, interpret and analyse. We encourage health workers to take care of themselves, developing the strength and stamina needed to meet the demands of their work. Sessions include: Non-Verbal Communication Do others see us as we intend? An exploration of physical states and communicative messages. If we imagine that a doctor is ‘performing medicine’ how does his/her stage presence impact on the well-being of the patient and affect the dramatic narrative of the consultation? Voice Evidence suggests that a doctor’s tone of voice has a significant impact on communication between doctor and patient. In this session a leading voice coach will help you to have more control over the affect your voice is having in a consultation. Anatomical Art (Life Drawing) How can the experience of drawing a human body enhance our understanding of how it functions? This life drawing class encourages participants to draw through a study of anatomy, and to study anatomy through the practice of drawing. Survival Guide to Being A Medical Student An introductory session focusing on how to look after your own body while at medical school and offering tips about how to present information well in problem based learning sessions and OSCE exams. EXAMINING CULTURAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES THROUGH ARTS These seminar and performance events use art as a platform to interrogate cultural/ethical issues relevant to healthcare such as difference, ownership, control, gender, cloning, the medical gaze, and detachment. Sessions include: Who Do Think You Are? What assumptions do we make about other people based on their and our own identity? These workshops examine issues of diversity, identity and difference within clinical settings either through forum theatre or creative writing techniques - building the resources to combat negative experiences of prejudice in terms of confidence and personal presentation. Body Politics While we might think of ourselves as having full control over our bodies, to what extent does the government, medical practice, and other institutions - including the family - claim ownership of our bodies? This seminar explores how artists have represented and explored these ideas in performance, including Franko B, Ron Athey, Kira O'Reilly, Karen Finley and Genesis P-Orridge. Embodiment A session at Tate Modern examining a range of modern and contemporary artworks, which investigate ideas of the body. This workshop takes place in the public gallery space, using a variety of activities and handling resources. Students have the opportunity to use sketchbooks to record their ideas. ARTISTS WORKING IN SCIENCE AND HEALTHCARE SETTINGS Workshops investigate how collaborations between artists and scientists/medics may improve health care in terms of communication, environment, outlook, public engagement, patient care and the advancement of knowledge. Sessions include: Perceptions Of Pain Deborah Padfield Artist Deborah Padfield talks about her award-winning project developed with consultant Dr Charles Pither, the medical Director of INPUT Pain Unit at Guy's, which uses photography to search for a visual language for pain. An Introduction To Arts In Health Vital Arts Vital Arts is a charitably funded arts project running across three hospital sites, which delivers a collaborative programme of integrated arts projects for comfort, healing and well-being of patients, staff and the wider hospital community. This seminar elaborates on the role of arts in healthcare and includes a visit to the acclaimed state-of-the-art breast care centre at St Bartholemew's Hospital. Arts In Palliative Care Rosetta Life An introduction to Rosetta Life, an artist-led organisation that enables those facing the end of their life to tell the stories that matter to them, shape them into an art work and share them with an audience of their choice via the internet. Participants will learn the role of an arts practice specifically targeted to one group of people and will be given tools to reflect upon their own responses to the stories they hear.	Publications The Uses of Arts in Medical Training, Suzy Willson, The Lancet, Vol. 368, Supplement 1, December 2006 Download PDF of article Medical Student Newspaper December 2007 Edition Download PDF of article The Effectiveness of arts-based interventions in medical education: a literature review, Perry M, Maffulli N, Willson S, Morrissey D Med Educ. 2011 Feb; 45(2):141-8