Museum-Based Education: A Novel Educational Approach for Hospice and Palliative Medicine Training Programs

The Harvard Macy Institute Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship: Transformational faculty development through the arts

Museum-based education for health professionals can lead to a variety of important learning outcomes within the domain of skills development, personal insight, perspective-taking and social advocacy. The Harvard Macy Institute's Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship was designed to develop faculty expertise in art museum-based practices, encourage scholarship, and cultivate a cohesive and supportive community of educators. The Fellowship was piloted from January to May 2019 with twelve interprofessional Fellows. Two in-person experiential sessions were held at Boston-area museums with intervening virtual learning. Fellows were introduced to a variety of approaches used in art museum-based education and developed a project for implementation at their home institution. A qualitative formative evaluation assessed immediate and 6-month post-Fellowship outcomes. Outcomes are reported in four categories: (1) Fellows' personal and professional development; (2) Institutional projects and curriculum development; (3) Community of practice and scholarly advancement of the field; and (4) Development of Fellowship model. A follow-up survey was performed four years after the conclusion of the pilot year, documenting Fellows' significant accomplishments in museum-based education, reflections on the Fellowship and thoughts on the future of the field.

The therapeutic potential of bedside art observation in hematologic cancer inpatients: a randomized controlled pilot study

PURPOSE

Prior research has suggested that art-based interventions may reduce anxiety in cancer patients and enhance dialogue in the healthcare setting. Through implementing Art at the Bedside, an art-based hospital visitation program, we sought to examine whether dedicated art observation sessions, and varying formats (with and without guided discussion), could have therapeutic effects on cancer patients' mental wellbeing.

METHODS

This randomized controlled pilot study evaluated the effects of bedside art observation on anxiety in a sample of 73 hematologic cancer inpatients. We compared state anxiety, as measured by an abbreviated form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI Y-6), across three groups (participants who observed an electronic selection of artwork with and without guided discussion, and a control group that did not engage in either dedicated art observation activity).

RESULTS

We found that mean anxiety scores were significantly lower among those who participated in guided art observation, compared to those who did not (8.92 versus 12.1, scored on a scale of 6 to 24, p = 0.009, with a medium effect size (η² = 12.7)). The majority of participants who engaged in art observation felt that the activity provided positive distraction (85.7%) and decreased boredom (79.6%), and many noted that it reduced feelings of anxiety (46.9%) and depression (24.5%).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that bedside art observation, particularly with guided discussion, may be a promising complementary therapy for reducing cancer-related anxiety and improving the patient experience in the inpatient hematology/oncology setting, and would benefit from further inquiry.

Blueprint for a Palliative Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Fellowship

Opportunities for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to train for specialty palliative care practice are insufficient to meet workforce needs. Graduate nursing programs in the United States do not have uniform or required curricula in palliative and end-of-life care of the seriously ill. In clinical practice, APRNs acquire palliative care skills by a mix of on-the-job experience, self-study, and continuing education. While physician colleagues can pursue post-residency training in one of 156 accredited hospice and palliative medicine fellowships, there are fewer than a dozen fellowships for APRNs, each training between one and three nurse fellows for specialty palliative care practice. This disparity slows the pipeline of palliative nursing experts and leaders, taxes employers with significant training duties, and results in an APRN workforce without uniform training. There are grass roots initiatives-often by non-nursing educators-to adapt existing physician and interprofessional fellowships for nurse learners, both in palliative care and other specialties. While these efforts help meet staffing needs and promote interprofessionalism, these programs are built upon medical curricula and competencies rather than grounding from a nursing framework. Nursing fellowship directors may not have the same administrative support, protected nonclinical time, funding, or access to nursing mentors and faculty afforded to their medical counterparts. This article provides a blueprint for clinician educators from nursing or non-nursing disciplines, who want to develop or refine training programs for APRNs that adhere to palliative nursing standards and offer a curriculum integrated with supervised practice and mentorship.