Paper
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
543
Using Art and Literature in the Clinical Setting: An Innovative Assignment
Daryle Brown, EdD, RN, Department of Nursing, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT, USA
| Learning Objective #1: incorporate knowledge gained from the humanities into the clinical practice of baccalaureate nursing students. |
| Learning Objective #2: assist students in viewing patients "holistically" utilizing art and literature. |
Using Art and Literature in the Clinical Setting: An Innovative Assignment
As part of their curriculum, baccalaureate nursing students take courses in the humanities. Many times the students are not able to see the relationship between these courses and nursing courses.
As faculty, I wanted to provide students with a clinical assignment that incorporated knowledge from the humanities, was thought provoking, a little out of the ordinary, and above all, fun! Instead of the usual nursing care plan, students were asked to describe their patients "holistically". The assignment was explained: the students would write a paper describing their patients utilizing a piece of literature and a piece of art that would capture the “essence” of who their patients were.
The group consisted of 6 students. The students self-selected into pairs (2 female and 1 male). Would there be a difference in the results between the male and female groups? Each group chose a patient that one of the students had cared for that week.
The papers were insightful and showed a side of students that many faculty are unaware. From finding the pieces of art/literature, to the interpretation of the pieces to their individual patients, each group was unique.
When the students were asked if the assignment should be repeated, they all said, "Yes!" Asked about their feelings of the assignment, one student stated, "As human beings, we have an innate sense to be artistic individuals and the ability to sense emotion. For once, we were able to examine our patients and truly understand who they were. We did not use scientific or medical terminology. We did not use numbers and values to analyze them. Instead, we used our brains as well as those of artists and authors to experience and feel each emotion that our patients were experiencing."