Arts in Medicine in Practice What a Great Experience !!!
Intro to Care Environments
Navigating Care Environments
Intro to Professional Competences
Understanding the Experience of Illness
Communication and Cultural Competency
Programs Models and Community
Settings Needs Assessment Resource Mapping
Program Planning and Implementation
There are many
take away moments from this class, especially when the Arts in Healthcare
programs step into a healing institution and provide positive changes in the environment,
community, and patients.
I could see the adaptation of my creative
practice model in collage used as an educational component to a health class.
For example learning can be enhanced for the subject of sleep hygiene, medication
management, exercise, good nutrition etc.
The educator working along with the AIR could collage weekly the topic
reviewed in the process of learning some of these topics. If not
used as a learning tool it may also be used for pleasure as an independent
study for the patient on their favorite things, landscapes, people etc. The opportunities are endless; collage can be
less threatening to some because the skill level is minimal and it provides for
good conversation and socialization of the patient.
To reflect why I choose this project,
sure it’s a reminder of this class and the things I’ve learned, but I thought
it would be the type of creative process I could pick up at any time as we are awaiting the
birth of a granddaughter who is due April 23.
The last baby came three week early so this grandmother wanted a clean,
dry, portable (work it anywhere, anytime) creative process. We are still waiting on our baby and I must
admit this piece got me through the last part of the trimester. Drawing designs
now everywhere I go, maybe I’m addicted.
Art has the power
to communicate and educate, giving it’s growing role of significance in health institutions. In addition shows that the arts can reduce
patients’ use of medication and length of stay in the hospital, and improved
compliance with recommended treatments_ offering substantial savings in healthcare
cost (State of the
Field Committee, 2009).
Recognizing this first hand Arts in Medicine can reduce the need for
pharmacology. The side effects of sedative medication are a tremendous offender
in the relationship of patient safety.
Art
and design do play a critical part in environments. Evidence-based practice in design
of the clinical care facilities are becoming a standard. Judging healthcare
environments as spaces for healing provides a healthy concept to include those
elements required for healing. A well designed space may actually allow
miracles to happen by providing opportunities for personal growth in ways of
inspiration and rejuvenation.
Exploring the power of the environment or the
"landscape" of children's lives--the array of settings they inhabit--and
analyzes the dimensions and qualities of children's environments.(Greenman, Jim, 1988) ”It appears that extended and
open views from various windows are responsive to children’s needs”(McLaren, Coralee, 2009) . Spaces are crucial/imperative in order to come to
terms with emotionally stressing experiences from daily work, and in order to
be prepared for future challenges, such as new tasks or patients with a complex
diagnosis.
(Liveng, Anne, 2010) 
Art and music are naturally healing by themselves, and when
brought to the bedside or outpatient clinic, artistic expression can serve to
promote wellness and bring meaning to the experience of illness. The most sophisticated health care centers in
the United States are embracing such initiatives by inviting artists and
musicians to work with patients and literally transform the hospital and
ambulatory outpatient environments. (Center
for the Arts in Medicine, 2015).
In addition to healing, the program provides an opportunity
for patients to simply tap into their creative natures and for a brief moment
experience a distraction from pain and a renewal of their psychological and
physiological states. ( Pompilio, n.d.) Enhance
the patient experience through healing art activities. The enhanced patient experience will be
measured by how the patient felt after the healing art activity & over-all rating
of care & loyalty.(Blair L. Sadler
& Annette Ridenour, 2009) Modify environment that is unfavorable by
participating in the creative process and engaging in a painting experience,
all safety precautions will be honored. (“Why We Need the
Arts in Medicine,” n.d.)
Patient is allowed time to express feeling of powerlessness. (The Power of Art:
Can creativity cure the sick?, n.d.)
"It's the
whole emotional and perceptual context you are in," says Nanda, "When
you're in a hospital, its high stress. When we are high stress, we go back to
our primal need to be soothed." (Nanda, et.al. 2012)
References
Blair L. Sadler, & Annette
Ridenour. (2009). Transforming the Health Experience Through the Arts.
San Diego,California: Aesthetics, Inc.
Greenman, Jim. (1988). Caring
Spaces, Learning Places: Children’s Environments That Work. Redmond, WA:
Exchange Press, Inc.
Liveng, Anne. (2010). Learning
and Recognition in Health and Care Work: An Inter-Subjective Perspective. Journal
of Workplace Learning, Vol. 22(Iss: 1/2), pp.41–52.
McLaren, Coralee. (2009). Analyzing
Qualitative Data about Hospitalized Children: Reflections on Bodily Expressions
(pp. 140–154). University of Toronto.
State of the Field Committee.
(2009). State of the Field Report:Arts in Healthcare. Washington,DC:
Society for the Arts and Health.
