Medical Improv Techniques Help Students Adapt During Patient Encounters
Belinda Fu, M.D., teaches medical improv to faculty members so students can handle unscripted medical situations.
FORT WORTH– What happens when improvisation interacts with the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU? You get medical improv. But it’s not what you think.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions when you hear the word improv,” said Erin Nelson, Psy.D., Associate Dean of Physician Communication at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. “A lot of people think about comedy. But there are two parts of improvisation, and we are looking at applied improv, which is the use of improv techniques in order to further teamwork, communication and connection.”
Burnett School of Medicine at TCU held a medical improv training led by Belinda Fu, M.D., along with local improvers at Arnold Hall. The goal was to show faculty different techniques and exercises that they can pass on to students to help them deal with unscripted medical situations.
“The old-school way of teaching communication skills in medical school was often to use scripts,” said Belinda Fu, M.D., who is an international leader in the field of medical improv. “So, improvisation really allows you to be comfortable with uncertainty and you can adapt to the unpredictable situation.”
Sandra Esparza, M.D., Assistant Dean for Clinical Curriculum and Director for Clinical Skills, said all conversations are improvisation. She went on to say, “If we can teach our students how to listen and respond in a way that patients feel listened to, this will help them build deeper relationships with patients and gain their trust.”
During the workshop, students engaged in a number of exercises that will prepare them for whatever encounter they will have with patients and the family of the patients.
“I think this will better help me when I interact with patients,” said Ashley Kenney, MS-3. “I’m excited to use these strategies in the future and I just want to have better communication and be more aware of the word choices I make when caring for patients.”
Burnett School of Medicine faculty from both Physician Communication and Clinical Skills teams are fully trained in medical improv exercises. Faculty members use these exercises during the Phase 3 Prep for Practice session, however, the techniques can be applied to any content application session.
“We’re not teaching students how to be improvers,” Nelson said. “We are using this modality to teach students exceptional communication skills.”