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Housecalls, National Film Board of Canada documentary
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Examples of Use of the Arts in Medical and Health Education
Challenges and Opportunities
Conclusion
Published work in this area describes the arts as offering a particularly effective means for developing observational and interpretive skills, increasing insight into human nature, as well as those contexts (social, cultural, relational, historical, economic, and storied) that influence personal experiences of disease and illness. The arts are viewed as providing a means for fostering imagination, emotional capacity, empathy, and reflection. Arts-related courses, electives, and other activities are also described as supporting the personal well-being and growth of practitioners.
The articles listed in Appendix A provide examples of ways of bringing medicine and the arts together and bridging the divides between these realms of experience and understanding.
In the end, it is the work and experience of those who explore these intersections that provides the most persuasive evidence about the value of the arts in the medical and health humanities. For example, Alicja Cieslak, a second-year medical student and current coordinator of the Arts in Medicine Club at the University of Alberta, explains that she has been involved in art since beginning her medical studies “because art helps me express ideas and understand people in a deeper way.” Other students in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry have offered similar testimonials.
Challenges and Opportunities
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