Theater and the Role of Role-playing, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

Educational activities will focus on topics such as emotion expressed in the dramatic scripts, the embodied physical and vocal reactions of others and the benefits of drama as therapy and as a means to build empathy for others. The goal is to prepare future doctors for the profession by actively engaging them in replicating the standard patient care model, where doctors practice interacting with simulated patients and/or colleagues in constructed, “real life” hospital and office scenarios. Students in the class will construct and perform relevant scenarios with class peers in order to strengthen communication and collaborative skills and to physically practice developing effective strategies to defuse potentially fraught encounters with simulated patients. Reflective, group discussions will take place and all acting exercises will be based on sound, ensemble based academic practice. We anticipate 10 to 20 students in the class and there will be 2 instructors in the session. The Course Director will be present at each class with a member of the theatre faculty. Additionally, 3 or 4 students from the Department of Theater and Dance will attend the class to demonstrate various acting techniques and exercises. Other presenters may be present depending on the session. Selective only. Selectives in the Medical Humanities consist of semester-long experiences in which students are able to explore various course offerings relating the humanities to the practice of medicine. Individual Selectives courses meet six times per semester and sessions are designed to be interactive in nature. Students are required to take two Selectives courses during Phase 1. These courses are designed to enrich the educational experience and provide a more well-rounded background to medical students, balancing the art and the science of medicine. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.