Why the best doctors might learn more from actors than textbooks
In short: Medical training typically traps clinicians within a rigid frame, where they learn exclusively from other medical experts. But what happens when we break that boundary? By viewing medicine as a performance, surgeons and physicians can unlock new insights by studying the techniques of musicians, dancers, and craftsmen.
Professor Roger Kneebone argues that while clinical practice requires rigorous factual knowledge and physical dexterity, the traditional educational model often discourages exploration outside the medical field. This creates a siloed environment where practitioners are taught primarily by their peers. By shifting the perspective to the 'performance' of medicine, we can identify shared principles between healthcare and other high-level disciplines that require precision, communication, and embodied skill.
Kneebone’s work explores how connecting with experts in fields like dance, music, and craftsmanship can challenge longstanding assumptions about surgical education. For instance, the way a musician masters an instrument or a dancer controls their body offers profound parallels to the physical demands of surgery and the nuances of patient interaction. These cross-disciplinary connections allow for a broader conceptual framework that enriches how clinicians approach both technical tasks and human connection. This approach was highlighted during a lecture recorded on October 31, 2018. It aims to question the benefits of thinking more widely about professional skills. The goal is to challenge assumptions that have persisted for a long time.
The professional path of Kneebone illustrates this integration, moving between Wiltshire's general practice and Southern African trauma surgery. His academic leadership at institutions like Imperial College London focuses on engagement and simulation science. By integrating the arts into medical training, he seeks to move beyond rote learning toward a more holistic understanding of what it means to perform medicine as both a craft and a human interaction. Kneebone received an Honorary Membership from the Royal College of Music in recognition of these efforts. He also earned a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowship in 2012. His role includes directing the Imperial College Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Performing Medicine, Performing Surgery - Roger Kneebone
- Also: Performing Medicine, Performing Surgery
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