Course Overview

This course surveys a form of artistic expression combined with an examination of the experience of being a health care patient. Depictions of patient signs, symptoms, and health care interactions in an art form such as theatre, visual art, music, cinema, storytelling, or dance will be used to appreciate the characteristics, conventions, and theoretical orientations of that art form within its sociocultural context. Students will further apply the nursing process and other nursing-specific methodologies to analyze the “stories” underlying the artworks under study. The combination of modes of appreciation specific to an art form with nursing-specific ways of knowing will allow students to pursue a holistic understanding of the patient experience.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify key characteristics, conventions, theories, and noteworthy creators associated with a form of artistic expression.
2. Analyze the form and message of an artwork using discipline-specific vocabulary and analytic approaches.
3. Engage with an artwork purposefully, critically, and contextually, mindful of the ways that meaning is produced and perceived.
4. Use artwork as an information source to create a care plan using the nursing process and thus pursue a holistic perspective on the patient experience.
5. Produce a creative work about the patient experience (such as a drawing, monologue, or short film) using the methods and theories specific to that art form.