A clowns walks into a Medical School…
After our introduction to Laban Effort Actions
I walk from the parking deck across the university campus and approach the medical school building. The destination is familiar. We have met in this building several times over the semester. I open the door and walk into the halls of Emory Medical School. I am at the university to co-teach students at the medical school as part of Emory's Arts and Social Justice Fellows Program.
I've been a hospital clown for many years, so I'm familiar with being a clown in a medical environment. That said, this is a school, a medical school. The halls are populated with young medical students in their twenties. The class that we are teaching is a Narrative Medicine class. Narrative medicine combines the art of storytelling with the practice of medicine. It encourages healthcare professionals to pay attention to the patient's story, experiences, and emotions to improve healthcare outcomes. Caregivers can provide a more compassionate and effective healthcare experience by listening and genuinely understanding the patient's narrative.
In many ways, focusing on these medical needs is similar to my focus on dealing with patients in a hospital environment. My experience at Emory this semester has opened new doors of experience for me. As a clown, I always want to meet the patient where they are. Meeting them where they are can significantly influence the type of clowning I do or don't do for a patient. This semester, my focus with the students has been on some of the performing approaches I use as a clown, Laban Effort Actions.
Laban Effort Actions are a movement analysis framework that categorizes how we move based on weight, time, and space. Combining Laban Effort Actions with narrative medicine can add a new dimension to the learning experience. As a clown, I naturally use physical expression and my body to tell stories. Laban Effort Actions helped me explore the range of movements that can convey specific emotions and experiences. When teaching narrative medicine to students, I incorporate Laban Effort Actions to help them understand the nonverbal aspects of patient narratives.
By incorporating Laban Effort Actions into narrative medicine classes, students better understand the patient's emotions and lived experiences. It can help them develop empathy and compassion, crucial traits for any excellent healthcare professional. It also encourages students to become more conscious of their own body language and non-verbal communication. Understanding how their gestures, postures, and movements affect the patient-doctor relationship can lead to improved patient-centered care.
Our medical system has a history of racial disparities. The Arts and Social Justice program aims to combat these disparities. The students can take what they learn in class and apply these lessons to their medical practices. A narrative medicine approach with patients can be an excellent tool to combat these injustices. It will enable the young doctors to get to know the patients' unique stories rather than see them as merely a list of numbers on a medical sheet. Getting to know their patient's stories can personalize each patient, encouraging the doctors to see them as unique rather than making racial assumptions about their medical care. I was happy to have Dr. Ajala as a co-teacher this semester. She is an assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and a hospital medicine faculty physician at Grady Memorial Hospital. She is knowledgeable and a strong advocate for her patients.
As a fellow with the Arts and Social Justice program, I had the opportunity to “sit in” on classes as other fellows taught their students. This experience reinforced the notion that other artists are diligently addressing social issues of our time. This program began as a response to the murder of George Floyd three years ago. I'm glad to say that the work of addressing social issues continues. I am proud of this mix of artistic work and social justice. For me, it reinforces the reality that art is life. Art is not just a luxury for the privileged but rather a means of expression. Expression about the condition of our lives, how we see ourselves, and an aspiration of what we long for. I am grateful that I was chosen to be an Arts and Social Justice Fellow. I hope the journey of arts and social justice opens more doors to understanding in our world.
The ASJ program will hold a showcase and community conversation. At the showcase, you can see some of the work we've been doing this semester. It will be on Tuesday, December 5, at the Switchyards Downtown Club. Doors open at 6 p.m., and programming begins at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.
Come check it out.
Getting ready for the first clown class.
At the Open Class
In Front of the School of Medicine Building