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Looking is not seeing: using art to improve observational skills
Linda Honan Pellico1, Linda Friedlaender, Kristopher P Fennie
1School of Nursing, Yale University, 100 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. linda.pellico@yale.edu
The Journal of Nursing Education
|September 8, 2009
Summary
Art museum visits significantly improved nursing students' observational skills. Students demonstrated enhanced objective clinical findings and more fluid differential diagnoses after the museum experience.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Art Education
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Traditional nursing education may not fully develop crucial observational skills.
- The link between art observation and clinical observation requires further investigation.
- Accelerated master's programs necessitate efficient skill development for nursing students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of an art museum experience on nursing students' observational abilities.
- To compare the effectiveness of art-based observation training versus traditional methods.
- To determine if enhanced visual observation skills translate to improved clinical diagnostic capabilities.
Main Methods:
- An experimental design was employed with two groups of accelerated master's nursing students.
- One group (n=34) participated in a focused art museum observation experience.
- The control group (n=32) received traditional didactic teaching methods.
Main Results:
- Museum-experienced students produced more detailed objective findings when analyzing patient photographs.
- Participants in the art museum group exhibited greater diagnostic fluidity, generating more alternative diagnoses.
- Focused art observation enhanced students' ability to visually itemize, discriminate, and synthesize information.
Conclusions:
- A focused art museum experience can significantly enhance observational skills in nursing students.
- Art-based learning offers a valuable adjunct to traditional methods for developing clinical observation.
- The study supports integrating visual arts into nursing curricula to improve diagnostic reasoning.
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