Creativity in Elder Care
Training Medical Students
in the Use of Creative Expression to Improve Elder Care

Readings and Media

General

· The Arts and Human Development: Framing a National Research Agenda for the Arts, Lifelong Learning, and Individual Well-Being.

·  The Creativity and Aging Study: The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on Older Adults, Final Report

· “Shall I Compare Thee to a Dose of Donepezil?”: Cultural Arts Interventions in Dementia Care Research

Dementia, Neuropathology – memory areas affected

Types of Memory Chart

Session 1 Poetry and Theater Improvisation

•Poetry in Medicine by Danielle Ofri, M.D., Ph.D.  

•On the Use of Poetry in Medical Education by Caroline Wellbery

 Media
PBS NewHour on the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment-july-dec13-poetry_09-12/

Story
Kidneys and Commitments

https://themoth.org/storytellers/gil-reyes

Session 2 Music

Create a playlist of songs and give it to someone. Use streaming service like Spotify or burn on CD, flash drive or old school cassette. Be ready to discuss your choices.

Why Do We Love Music?

Music and Identity: Dementia and Music Therapy, Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Chapter 29.

In the Moment: Music and Amnesia, Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Chapter

 New Ways Into the Brain’s ‘Music Room, NY Times, NATALIE ANGIER, Feb. 8th, 2016

Media
Video, Henry Music and Memories

https://www.google.com/search?q=music+and+memories+henry&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

MedRhythms, website
MedRhythms exists to bring them back by helping patients access the highest quality of care at the intersection of music, technology, and neuroscience.

http://medrhythmstherapy.com/

Story
Lessons from the Perry Como Sundae Bar by Robert Weinstein
A grandson brings joy to a nursing home.

https://themoth.org/storytellers/robert-weinstein

Radio Lab

http://www.radiolab.org/story/91578-clive/

Video, Clive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62C_yTUyVg

Session 3 Storytelling

Please read the article entitled, “My Spotless Mind." Think about and be ready to discuss if you would alter your bad memories. 

Impact of Participation in TimeSlips, a Creative Group-Based Storytelling Program,
on Medical Student Attitudes Toward Persons With Dementia: A Qualitative Study, The Gerontologist, doi:10.1093/geront/gnr035

Story
iPad storyteller Joe Sabia introduces us to Lothar Meggendorfer, who created a bold technology for storytelling: the pop-up book. Sabia shows how new technology has always helped us tell our own stories, from the walls of caves to his own onstage iPad.

http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_sabia_the_technology_of_storytelling

Session 4 Art
What the Brain Can Tell Us About Art, Eric Kandel, NY Times Article

Story
Head of Clay by Jay Martel
A man reluctantly inherits a 40 pound statue

https://themoth.org/stories/head-of-clay

Week 5 Dance/Movement

Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly, N Engl J Med 2003;348:2508-16.