Discovering medical students' full potential: a science and an art

A fresh perspective on medical education: the lens of the arts

OBJECTIVES

This literature review was designed to examine the role of the arts in medical education. It is distinctive from previous literature reviews in that it focuses specifically on what medical education as a discipline can learn from the arts and does not seek to measure the effectiveness of arts-based educational interventions in students or clinicians.

METHODS

A literature search using the terms 'educat*' or 'medic*' and phrases such as 'arts', 'therapy', 'medicine', 'arts therapy', 'professional artistry' and 'nursing/doctoral education' was conducted. The 60 items identified were filtered for relevance. Key data were extracted from the remaining items and subjected to a literature analysis to identify important or recurring themes.

RESULTS

A total of 39 pieces of literature were included in the study. Collectively, these outlined four main areas in which the use of the arts impacts upon medical education. These refer to using the arts: (i) as a tool for professional development; (ii) to develop pedagogy; (iii) to critique the prevailing approach of medical education, and (iv) to view practice as a succession of performances.

CONCLUSIONS

The effectiveness of the arts cannot be measured by yardsticks that have been set for judging technical proficiency or short-term impact. The possible outcomes of embracing the arts in medical education include an enriched view of lifelong learning and professional development, the potential to critique prevailing approaches to medical practice, and the revisualisation of medicine as a succession of performances. These open up the broader social aspects of medical practice to scrutiny and offer new and distinctive ways of exploring professional knowledge and identity.