Can the arts and humanities bring the patient's voice centre stage in medical education?

Abstract

Fostering a "common culture"? Responses to the Francis Inquiry demonstrate the need for an interprofessional response.

How creative enquiry can help educators develop learners' person‐centredness

“…Though many medical schools include some form of arts and humanities education within their curricula, most often this involves reflecting on others' creative work, 16,17 rather than generating one's own. Creative enquiry encourages active engagement that takes the benefits of the approach outlined by Laughey and Finn 10 even further—whilst reflecting on the arts and humanities can bring the patient's voice centre stage, creative enquiry can also forefront learners' voices 14…”

“…Though the four papers we have selected may seem divergent, through their coverage of emotional discourses, co-designing for psychological safety, emphasis of patient voice through the arts, and the design of education that facilitates transformative learning, all these papers offer important messages for educators interested in designing sessions that facilitate learner person-centredness. Core themes from across the papers include the importance of: emotions to professional learning 8,10,11 and, in particular, supported engagement with negative emotions (such as guilt, fear and shame); authentic learning spaces 8,9,11 ; and co-creative development of curricula across hierarchies. [8][9][10][11] Engaging with these domains within session design can create transformative spaces for learning about personcentredness.…”

“… 3.Can the arts and humanities bring the patient's voice centre stage in medical education? 10 Laughey and Finn consider the arts and humanities illuminating and magnifying patients' voices in medical education as essential for development of patient (person)‐centred approaches. Positioning patients as co‐designers in conception, delivery and planning, challenges the hierarchies of power in the doctor–patient relationship and enhances understanding of the human experience of illness, especially within stigmatised groups.…”

“…Then, when senior clinicians choose to model humility and appropriate vulnerability, this allows others to engage and is a core part of establishing psychological safety, creating a powerful learning space for team working 9 . Further, the patient voice can raise the human experience of illness and bring some of the uncertainty and not knowing encountered in real practice into the healthcare professional learning environment 10 . Finally, transformative learning itself develops understanding of multiple perspectives which can lead to humility and integrity 11 …”

“…Core themes from across the papers include the importance of: emotions to professional learning 8,10,11 and, in particular, supported engagement with negative emotions (such as guilt, fear and shame); authentic learning spaces 8,9,11 ; and co-creative development of curricula across hierarchies. [8][9][10][11] Engaging with these domains within session design can create transformative spaces for learning about personcentredness.…”