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Using Shakespeare's Lear to Deepen Formulation Skills in Geriatric Psychiatry
Mark Rapoport1,2, Certina Ho3, Rex Kay3
1Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mark.Rapoport@sunnybrook.ca.
Summary
Shakespearean theatre improved geriatric psychiatry residents' confidence in biopsychosocial formulation and understanding health determinants. This innovative teaching method enhances skills in addressing ageism and stigma in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Medical Education
- Psychotherapy Training
Background:
- Psychiatry requires understanding biopsychosocial determinants of health.
- Theatre offers nuanced human condition observations but lacks formal evaluation as a psychiatric teaching tool.
- Shakespeare's works provide rich character studies relevant to clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore Shakespeare's King Lear as an educational intervention.
- To enhance formulation skills training in geriatric psychiatry residency.
- To assess the impact on residents' understanding of health determinants and ageism.
Main Methods:
- A half-day educational session involving seven residents and four professional actors performing scenes from King Lear.
- Faculty debriefing sessions were conducted.
- Pre- and post-surveys measured confidence; three-month follow-up surveys and semi-structured interviews were also performed.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant improvements in confidence were observed in formulating biopsychosocial understanding (p=0.01).
- Residents showed enhanced confidence in communicating social and cultural determinants of health (p=0.02).
- Confidence increased in describing ageism and stigma in older adults with mental disorders (p=0.02).
Conclusions:
- Live performance of Shakespearean text can benefit residents' confidence in formulation.
- The intervention improved communication of health determinants and understanding of ageism in geriatric psychiatry.
- The educational approach was deemed helpful and recommended for residency programs.
Keywords:
Geriatric psychiatry residencyMedical humanitiesPsychiatric educationPsychiatric formulationShakespeareMore Related Videos
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