title: Playback Theatre as a tool to enhance communication in medical education.
abstract: Playback Theatre (PT) is an improvisational form of theatre in which a group of actors "play back" real life stories told by audience members. In PT, a conductor elicits moments, feelings and stories from audience members, and conducts mini-interviews with those who volunteer a moment of their lives to be re-enacted or "played" for the audience. A musician plays music according to the theme of each story, and 4-5 actors listen to the interview and perform the story that has just been told. PT has been used in a large number of settings as a tool to share stories in an artistic manner. Despite its similarities to psychodrama, PT does not claim to be a form of therapy. We offered two PT performances to first year medical students at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, to bring the students a safe and fun environment, conducive to sharing feelings and moments related to being a medical student. Through the moments and stories shared by students, we conclude that there is an enormous need in this population for opportunities to communicate the many emotions associated with medical school and with healthcare-related personal experiences, such as anxiety, pride, or anger. PT proved a powerful tool to help students communicate.
authors.affiliation: Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; rsalas@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Ramiro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salas
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.affiliation: Houston Playback Theatre, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loe
authors.affiliation: Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gauna
authors.affiliation: Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Paymaan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jafar-Nejad
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D004324:Drama; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D013781:Texas
keywords: Playback Theatre; arts; improvisation; medical education; stress