Exploring arts-based pedagogies in nurse education : The A. R. T. E. framework

The shift towards interest in the arts in healthcare has been concurrent with what we know about the social determinants of health. There are many different ways in which this work is described (arts in health, arts for health, arts and health). Active engagement in the arts is not just restricted to benefits for patients and service users but has also been shown to improve care environments with benefits for staff retention and continuing professional development. Eisner (2004), an educationalist, asserts that the arts have the power to stimulate creative and intuitive thinking beyond text and talk given how we experience the environment through our sensory system during the lifecourse. This helps individuals to articulate their experiences, to reflect on ambiguities and uncertainties in life and often to challenge and transform long-held feelings and attitudes. In this chapter we discuss how arts-based pedagogies facilitates the integrative and social model of health, and has opened the space for creative arts activities in healthcare education. We consider and discuss the potential for introducing and engaging with the ABP in nurse education. Writing from the perspective of our own knowledge and experiences as educators from the UK where we have been utilising novel approaches to education for nursing and social work. This has led us to experiment with the arts as a means of enriching and achieving more critical and activist pedagogies that impact on professional practice (Hafford-Letchfield et al., 2012; Leonard et al., 2016, 2018). Having conducted and evaluated a number of approaches, we will share our own learning and offer the ARTE (activate, research, teach, evaluate) framework. This framework has emerged from our enquiries and helps to conceptualise learning methods which address affective and cognitive domains within holistic approaches. The framework is put forward for potential use in managing the increasing complexity and uncertainty of practice alongside the acquisition of technical knowledge and skills in social work and nursing

The impact of the arts in social work education: a systematic review

Evidence on the effectiveness of arts-based approaches in professional education has been gathering momentum in the last decade embracing disciplines such as medicine, the allied professions, social work and social care. Key texts have emerged promoting the use of the arts in professional education and there have been some attempts to capture empirical evidence on its value. This paper reports on a systematic review of the current body of knowledge on the impact of the arts in social work education. We introduce the rationale for undertaking a systematic review and the methodology and approach used. We then discuss the three significant themes from our synthesis of the evidence reviewed. These were; positioning social work practice through linking micro and macro thinking; the cultivation of leadership beyond verbal reasoning and art as pedagogy. The findings are discussed in the context of what the arts can offer challenges in social work education

Dynamics of extracellular matrix in ovarian follicles and corpora lutea of mice

Despite the mouse being an important laboratory species, little is known about changes in its extracellular matrix (ECM) during follicle and corpora lutea formation and regression. Follicle development was induced in mice (29 days of age/experimental day 0) by injections of pregnant mare’s serum gonadotrophin on days 0 and 1 and ovulation was induced by injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin on day 2. Ovaries were collected for immunohistochemistry (n=10 per group) on days 0, 2 and 5. Another group was mated and ovaries were examined on day 11 (n=7). Collagen type IV α1 and α2, laminin α1, β1 and γ1 chains, nidogens 1 and 2 and perlecan were present in the follicular basal lamina of all developmental stages. Collagen type XVIII was only found in basal lamina of primordial, primary and some preantral follicles, whereas laminin α2 was only detected in some preantral and antral follicles. The focimatrix, a specialised matrix of the membrana granulosa, contained collagen type IV α1 and α2, laminin α1, β1 and γ1 chains, nidogens 1 and 2, perlecan and collagen type XVIII. In the corpora lutea, staining was restricted to capillary sub-endothelial basal laminas containing collagen type IV α1 and α2, laminin α1, β1 and γ1 chains, nidogens 1 and 2, perlecan and collagen type XVIII. Laminins α4 and α5 were not immunolocalised to any structure in the mouse ovary. The ECM composition of the mouse ovary has similarities to, but also major differences from, other species with respect to nidogens 1 and 2 and perlecan