In speaking on “Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind”, Leonardo Da Vinci observed that to develop a complete mind one must “Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses—especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.” I have lived, studied, and worked in the UK and Ireland since 1994, yet I am still amazed that students go straight from secondary or high school into medical school.
From that point on, the vast majority of what students learn and experience is specific to their training to be a doctor. Although students will have opportunities in most UK medical schools to select from a small range of humanities and arts modules for a semester or two, many will opt for a clinical module believing it will be more applicable and beneficial to their career and course of study. Many other countries in Europe and Asia also have similarly specialised undergraduate medical education with students entering directly from secondary education. In the USA, of course, things are very different. American doctors will have first obtained a Bachelor's degree, and as part of that degree, many will have completed mandatory liberal arts courses or modules in languages, literature, history, or philosophy, with the aim of developing students' intellectual breadth. By contrast, undergraduate medical education in the UK often does not allow for such breadth. My experience of teaching medical students, however, has led me to believe that the public, patients, and medical graduates would greatly benefit from a curriculum that included a greater focus on liberal arts.
I have recently been involved in an art-based project at Queen's University Belfast, where we have worked with medical students and drama students on topics in medicine and bioethics. Students have taken part in explorations of issues in bioethics through public theatrical performances with the help of professionals in ethics, dance, and theatre. The idea of using the performing arts in medical education is not new. Dramatic and performance arts have been used as a tool to help students explore and reflect on their own values and behaviours and to help them gain insight into the role they play through dramatic improvisation and as an audience participant. Medical students also rehearse or “perform” when learning how to consult with patients or break bad news, for example, and these communication skills are often honed through role play exercises during their training. A few years ago, I began to investigate a way in which drama could be used to enhance the teaching and learning of medical ethics in particular. Through discussions with colleagues in performing arts, it was agreed that devised theatre would be a good tool.