Use of interactive theater for faculty development in multicultural medical education

The development of critical consciousness, anchored in principles of social justice, is an essential component of medical education.

In order to assist faculty instructors in facilitating small-group discussions on potentially contentious issues involving race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class, a faculty development workshop was created.

The workshop used 'Forum Theater' techniques in which the audience was directly involved in determining the course of a simulated classroom discussion and conflict. We assessed the workshop's impact on the instructors' attitudes regarding facilitation of small-group discussions through two surveys: one to gauge immediate impressions, and another, 9-15 months later, to assess impact over time.

Immediately after the workshop, participants reported that the topics covered in the sketch and in the discussion were highly relevant. In the follow-up survey, the instructors agreed that the workshop had raised their awareness of the classroom experiences of minorities and women and had offered strategies for addressing destructive classroom dynamics. 72% reported that the workshop led to changes in their behavior as facilitators. Differences in responses according to gender were observed.

A workshop using interactive theater was effective in training faculty to facilitate small-group discussions about multicultural issues. This approach emphasizes and models the need to foster critical consciousness in medical education.