How can art contribute to better teaching and greater understanding in medical education? A new course at Karolinska Institutet explores precisely this by offering teachers and tutors a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of art and medical education. Through this close collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and the National Museum, participants will develop new perspectives on learning, reflection and professional practice within healthcare education.
How can art contribute to better teaching and greater understanding in medical education? A new course at Karolinska Institutet explores precisely this by offering teachers and tutors a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of art and medical education. Through this close collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and the National Museum, participants will develop new perspectives on learning, reflection and professional practice within healthcare education.
The course “Seeing, Interpreting and Reflecting – a course in art and medical education” is aimed at teachers and supervisors who wish to develop their pedagogical tools.
The course is based on art’s potential to foster reflection, presence, empathy and complex understanding. The aim is for participants to develop concrete tools for integrating art into their own teaching and supervision.
Seeing, interpreting and reflecting in practice
The course focuses on three key dimensions: seeing, interpretation and reflection. Through practical exercises and group discussions, participants explore how we perceive images and situations, how our interpretations are formed, and how reflection can lead to deeper learning.
The course comprises five seminar sessions at the National Museum. The sessions combine group discussions, practical exercises and reflective work with artworks in a museum setting.
“This collaboration opens up a unique educational opportunity. It demonstrates the power of using art in teaching, not least in challenging our perspectives and deepening our understanding. It provides participants with new tools to support more nuanced and reflective learning,” says Jonas Nordquist , who leads the Health Education Arts network and has been involved in developing the collaboration with the National Museum.
