Duke administrators have designed a creative program to encourage medical students to practice mindfulness and make time for themselves during a rigorous and demanding learning process.
The partnership between the Learning Environment and Well-being and Duke’s Office of Arts has established a free workshop twice a month to give students the opportunity to relax using a variety of art media. These activities can help students engage in new art forms, connect with their peers, and learn skills that can be applied to their careers and beyond.
In the literature
A 2018 study found that medical students with higher exposure to the arts and humanities have better empathy, emotional intelligence, and intelligence than those who do not. They are also unlikely to experience burnout. Another study shows that arts courses relieve stress on students enrolled.
Production Opportunities: Duke’s School of Medicine recruits more than 1,400 students to participate in a variety of health professional programs, including a MD, physician assistant, a master of biomedical sciences and a physical therapy program, each with its own goals and a recognized body. Students represent a variety of backgrounds and experiences, so “there is no strategy for well-being,” said Jane Gagliardi, associate dean of the medical school’s learning environment and well-being.
Gagliardi explains that medical school students are able to attend a wider campus event, but these programs often feel isolated or restricted to them.
Gagliardi first at the University of Arts of Arts of Arts of Arts Schools of Duke Arts of Duke Arts of Anna Wallace at the Student Resources Fair where both of them have tables. Wallace decorated her with brown paper and crayons so visitors can stop and color.
Realizing how simple coloring might be the student picking me up, Gagliardi has formed a partnership with Wallace to provide art workshops for people in the medical school.
Gain artistic quality: A free workshop for the creation of a seminar on Duke Arts, which is held twice a month on Duke Medicine’s Health Wednesday throughout the school year.
Activities include watercolor painting, knitting, poetry deconstruction through text, magazine production and singing workshops. A famous art project focused on Duke Church; students use watercolor paintings to decorate the church’s free portraits.
Students bring various skills and talent levels to the seminar, sometimes surpriseing employees.
“This is the clearest way you think of the science-focused students who are also good at expressing their own expressions and supporting their classmates and colleagues to do these things,” Gagliardi said.
Some events are co-hosted by campus affinity organizations; for example, the Lunar New Year celebration was conducted in partnership with the Duke of China, which teaches students to tailor and share snacks like Boba Tea.
Everyone attending the event was well received, but high attendance was not the goal, Gagliardi said. Instead, Gagliardi hopes such efforts show students that schools care about their mental health and well-being.
“I want a channel to be free and let my creativity flow,” said Carly Williams, PhD. Students in the Department of Biochemistry, according to a Duke Arts press release. “I remember doing watercolors as a kid and loving it, so it seemed like the perfect art conference to me. It turned out to be a relaxing painting and a good company.”
One of the benefits of the plan is that it has a fairly low budget and is easy to implement, Galiaardi said.
Overall support: In addition to the art workshops, Gagliardi is responsible for various well-being programs in the School of Medicine to support students and staff.
“It is important to find ways to maintain humanity when doing rigorous learning,” she said, especially in areas like medicine where she learns about disease, recovery and death. “Providing people with skills and strategies to deal with distress is important for maintaining functional learning.”
Every week, she receives granola with Gagliardi, opening hours allow anyone to stop, pick up a bar and talk to her.
Duke Medicine also regularly works with Medicine In Motion to host events such as Power Yoga, running or pickle tournaments to promote physical exercise and well-being.
In the future, Gagliardi hopes to connect other student groups with Wednesday’s health events.
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