Arts based approaches to teaching health professional students about the lived experience of patients have gained greater attention in recent years. These approaches have been noted to be quite applicable to medical education, as educators seek to utilize strategies that enhance the social-emotional learning of students in an effort to build empathy, cultural competence, and critical thinking skills (De la Croix et al., 2011; Levitt-Jones, 2024). Arts based learning has been described as “a creative strategy with the potential to engage learners, foster understanding of multiple perspectives, and simultaneously connect cognitive and affective domains of learning” (Rieger & Chernomas, 2013, p. 53). More recently, theatre based learning (an arts based approach) has been utilized in medical education (Marzi et al., 2025). This approach utilizes theatrical techniques such as scripted performances, interactive storytelling, music, poetry, and role playing to enhance learning. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of theatre based learning as a distinct teaching strategy. Using examples from projects implemented in Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine (undergraduate and graduate programs) and BScN (Collaborative) program, as well as continuing nursing education in Newfoundland and Labrador, we will describe how this strategy can be effectively integrated into the health professional classrooms to promote social emotional learning.

Natalie Beausoleil, Phd, is a sociologist and Professor of Social Sciences and Health in the Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University,

COI Disclosure: I do not have an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with any for-profit or not-for-profit organizations