Return to January 2006 Funded Projects

Artemacy - The fusion of creative art and pharmacy education

Dr Angela MacAdam

The aim of the project is to use a range of art interventions (poetry, painting, drama, imagination, image, metaphor, collage, visualisations, music and creative writing in the form of journals) to enable Pharmacy students to integrate their creative and cognitive abilities, which in turn will enhance their learning and help to develop the full range of skills required to be a community pharmacist.

The creativity sessions will result in an exhibition of work which will ultimately be displayed in the School thus enhancing the environment for students, staff and visitors. The workshops will use the metaphor of the seasons of the year as a means of identifying the learning process; from autumn (a time of endings and new beginnings, winter (a time to plant seeds, germinate ideas and thoughts), spring (a time of growth and blossoming) culminating in summer (a time to harvest the fruits of their labour).

A comprehensive report will be written highlighting the learning from the project and making recommendations for the integration of creativity into the curriculum.

The degree programme will incorporate creativity as an explicit part of learning, both as an aid to understanding particular areas of the curriculum and as a means of enhancing communication skills. We will also evaluate the extent to which the use of creativity as part of the curriculum may reduce anxiety and increase confidence in the students. Neuro-scientific research demonstrates that when the prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of brain) is stressed, the individual's ability to concentrate is diminished. When stressed there is an increase in levels of cortisone and adrenaline levels, which are decreased by soothing activities such as creating art, listening to music, working with clay, etc. thus enabling clearer thinking, concentration and memory.