Drawing insights: Developing a humanistic understanding of asthma through reflective artmaking among pharmacy and nursing students

INTRODUCTION: Adoption of arts-based approaches to deepen health professionals' understanding of patient experiences is increasing. Building upon previous work, this case report explores the educational value and impact of an arts-based activity on Pharmacy and Nursing students' perspectives of patient experiences of asthma. METHODS: Pharmacy and Nursing students attending face-to-face or online tutorials as part of their regular curricula were invited to create drawings expressing their perceptions of patient experiences of asthma; view drawings made by patients living with asthma; and reflect on their own, compared to patient, representations of asthma in class discussion and individual writing. Students also reflected on the activity itself. Students submitted their anonymous written reflections, along with photos of their artwork, to a secure web-based platform. Thematic analysis was conducted on the written reflections. RESULTS: A total of 152 students (119 Pharmacy, 33 Nursing) participated. Four themes were identified in students' written reflections: (1) Developing a humanistic understanding of asthma; (2) Willingness to invest in the patient experience; (3) Bridging theory to clinical practice; and (4) Impact of the creative process on learning about asthma. DISCUSSION: This approach offered nuanced insights into patient experiences of asthma, encouraged reflection about the humanistic aspects of healthcare, and fostered varying levels of empathic and relational awareness for patient experiences among students. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the educational value of arts-based approaches in health curricula. Future studies should focus on how students experience empathy and relatedness over time and examine the impact of learning modality on learning and practice.