A Curriculum on Performing Arts Medicine: Perspectives on Theory and Implementation

Abstract

The development of professional organizations and clinics dedicated to performing arts medicine and increasing public awareness of the medical problems of performing artists have been evident over the last 25 years, yet there are few formal training programs in performing arts medicine for healthcare practitioners and no standardized, widely used education tools available for that purpose. This paper proposes a method by which performing arts medicine topics might be introduced to medical practitioners using accepted tools of curriculum design. The goals and objectives of a proposed curriculum are presented, as well as a needs assessment, educational strategies, assessment methods, implementation and dissemination ideas, and suggestions for curriculum maintenance and renewal. Several features are paramount to successful curriculum change: leadership, cooperative climate, participation of organization members, evaluation, human resource development, and politics. The role of the team leader is crucial, in that a leader needs to understand the cognitive orientations of both performing arts medicine and primary care as well as of education theory.