Integration of Art and Humanities in Teaching/Learning in Palliative Care in Undergraduate Medicine

Purpose: We have addressed the need to educate medical students in palliative care (PC) and the incorporation of teaching and learning interventions directed toward improving competencies beyond medical knowledge,1 such as observation and communication skills, empathy, resilience, relationships with patients and families, professional identity formation, self-reflection, and decision making.2,3 Approach: We incorporated a health humanities experiential activity as part of a 42-hour PC module in the internal medicine course for medical students at 1 university in Medellin, Colombia. The students were organized into groups to perform a holistic assessment of people living with serious illnesses, prepare a written narrative about the impact of the disease on the patients’ lives, and create an art or health humanities deliverable. They received advice from an artist and collaborated with patients and graphic design students. The creations were exhibited to the academic community and the community at one of the university’s public spaces, which provided feedback through an online survey. Additionally, a group of interprofessional faculty members from 2 universities supported and provided feedback to the students. The formative and summative evaluations were performed through previously defined rubrics.4,5 Outcomes: After 2 successful implementation cycles, we have achieved several outcomes. Results from the first cycle (July 2022): 65 medical students; 13 teams; 13 written narratives; 3 participating faculty members; 13 art humanities deliverables, including sculptures, paintings, poetry, transmedia, and art photo albums; public exhibition entitled “Arts, Humanities, and Palliatives”; and feedback collected through an online survey. Results from the second cycle (October 2022): 90 medical students; 23 graphic design students; 15 teams; 14 participating faculty members, including 9 from PC, 4 from graphic design, and 1 from architecture; 15 art humanities deliverables, including sculptures, paintings, poetry, transmedia, art photo albums, and a podcast; public itinerant exhibition entitled “Design from Being”; and feedback collected through online survey and focus groups. Students received highly satisfactory evaluations in all evaluated competencies, and faculty members described the quality of teamwork, creativity, ability to integrate knowledge, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities as outstanding. Students’ reflections have highlighted the project’s positive outcomes, including active learning, engagement, relevance, and significance. The project was rated as highly satisfactory in the students’ satisfaction surveys, and some students have continued working on the health humanities educational project to support their peers. Significance: The group involved in implementing this project has proposed continuing with the initiative, and the pilot institution fully supports and encourages the involvement of students from other programs. Looking to the future, our plans for 2023 include an interprofessional activity involving students from other health professions, international collaboration with students from LCME-accredited medical schools in Puerto Rico, and a virtual international collaborative art exhibition.

Art · Empathy · Formative assessment · Medical education · Medical humanities · Narrative · Narrative medicine · Pedagogy · Reflective writing · The arts · Visual arts · Empathy and Medical Education · Medicine · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology