Using the arts in healthcare education: Olwen Minford
Using the arts in healthcare education: Olwen Minford
Author
Introduction
Arts-based interventions are increasingly being used to train healthcare workers at both undergraduate and postgraduate level to improve patient communication and compassion.
“The impact of my Fellowship has been a leavening one and a raising agent to my work." - Olwen Minford, Fellow
Psychotherapist and bereavement counsellor Olwen Minford (CF 2014) has been using arts in healthcare, education and therapy for more than 20 years in NHS and voluntary settings. Olwen originally practised as a nurse internationally and became interested in how other countries use the arts in healthcare and education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Following her Fellowship in 2014, Olwen became a contributor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing and the subsequent inquiry report, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing. This research is now a formative resource of evidence-based practice across the UK. Olwen has also published a chapter in Spirituality and Hospice Care in 2017, detailing how a psychotherapist might use the arts to alleviate spiritual pain. Olwen has led various initiatives to promote the use of the arts in healthcare education, including running workshops to enable staff to look at the taboo around death and to improve communication with patients. In 2015, Olwen ran a workshop at the Dulwich Picture Gallery for end-of-life care staff to help improve communication around death and dying.
Olwen has been involved in leading a collaboration with the London Arts in Health Forum to introduce arts activities into primary care practices and networks. The aim of the programme is to encourage staff to apply creative activities to their own professional development, and for them to become advocates for such activities in their workplace. This will then allow improved training and a better understanding of how arts and health activities can be a core part of the support offered by primary care and the NHS Long Term Plan.
Olwen’s Fellowship explored improving communication training and compassionate care using arts-based methods in Australia and the USA.
Olwen says, “The impact of my Fellowship has been a leavening one and a raising agent to my work. It has allowed me to be recognised as an arts in healthcare practitioner and has authenticated the role of arts in healthcare, which was not taken very seriously ten years ago.”
“The impact of my Fellowship has been a leavening one and a raising agent to my work." - Olwen Minford, Fellow
Psychotherapist and bereavement counsellor Olwen Minford (CF 2014) has been using arts in healthcare, education and therapy for more than 20 years in NHS and voluntary settings. Olwen originally practised as a nurse internationally and became interested in how other countries use the arts in healthcare and education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Following her Fellowship in 2014, Olwen became a contributor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing and the subsequent inquiry report, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing. This research is now a formative resource of evidence-based practice across the UK. Olwen has also published a chapter in Spirituality and Hospice Care in 2017, detailing how a psychotherapist might use the arts to alleviate spiritual pain. Olwen has led various initiatives to promote the use of the arts in healthcare education, including running workshops to enable staff to look at the taboo around death and to improve communication with patients. In 2015, Olwen ran a workshop at the Dulwich Picture Gallery for end-of-life care staff to help improve communication around death and dying.
Olwen has been involved in leading a collaboration with the London Arts in Health Forum to introduce arts activities into primary care practices and networks. The aim of the programme is to encourage staff to apply creative activities to their own professional development, and for them to become advocates for such activities in their workplace. This will then allow improved training and a better understanding of how arts and health activities can be a core part of the support offered by primary care and the NHS Long Term Plan.
Olwen’s Fellowship explored improving communication training and compassionate care using arts-based methods in Australia and the USA.
Olwen says, “The impact of my Fellowship has been a leavening one and a raising agent to my work. It has allowed me to be recognised as an arts in healthcare practitioner and has authenticated the role of arts in healthcare, which was not taken very seriously ten years ago.”