Acting Like a Doctor: Strengthening Doctor-Patient Relationships Through Theatre at SLU

Dr. Ken Haller, professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University, leads first-year medical students in a writing exercise during his Acting Like a Doctor class.

ACTING LIKE A DOCTOR: STRENGTHENING DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THEATRE AT SLU

by Emily Hellmuth

The doctor-patient relationship is one that we all face at some point in our lives. It is also one that can be challenging given the sensitive nature of the conversations, particularly if we do not understand each other. Ken Haller, professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University and A&E board member, is using theater with his medical students to improve that relationship.

“In addition to anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, we put a great deal of emphasis at SLU Medical School on nurturing mindfulness and empathy in our students as we prepare them to see patients in the real world,” Haller explained.

Part of that preparation is developing the softer skills required of being a doctor, something Haller aims to do in the Acting Like a Doctor elective he teaches with first-year medical students.

“While not that many medical students have been actors, every med student has seen actors at work and knows how powerful their work can be,” he added.

One recent class meeting began with students identifying their greatest fears in becoming doctors.

“I’m afraid of not having the answer, but that’s why my communications skills are so important,” one student explained. “I need to have the right words to comfort even if I don’t have the actions.”

This is the kernel of Haller’s class – using theatre and acting techniques like role play and improv to teach students how to empathize with their patients and their families and how to play the role of doctor even when they don’t feel like it.

“When you’re seeing patients, you have to act like a doctor even when you don’t feel like a doctor. This, of course, is what actors do: If we act like this person we are portraying, and the audience believes us in that role, we become that person,” Haller, an actor himself, explained.

The students in the elective are all in their first year of medical school, before they being patient interactions, but Cynthia Morris says the class still finds its way into her practice as a pediatric neurology resident.

“I am more comfortable standing and speaking in front of a group and I learned good ways to handle some more difficult patient scenarios, especially how to speak kindly and patiently with families who do not want things that I feel are very important for their child,” she explained.

Monica Goodland, a MD/PhD candidate at Saint Louis University, adds the elective gave her the tools she needs to understand her patients.

“If I can quickly assess that history from my patient – Do they seem guarded? Do they seem like they are not giving me the whole story? Is there someone else in the room who may be influencing the dynamic of the visit? – I can really be the physician my patient needs,” Goodland said.

As Haller explains during a recent session, the theatre elective is about more than silly role play scenarios. It is about how doctors relate to their patients and learn to trust themselves in the role of doctor so that they can think on their feet and better understand – and, ultimately, heal – their patients.

To read more about how the arts foster connections and promote a vibrant St. Louis, click here.

Fourth annual Briefs Festival showcases eight playwrights

By KATIE COOK

Dr. Ken Haller, far left, Joan Lipkin and John Schmidt are participating in next week’s Briefs Festival. The trio talked to ‘Cityscape’ host Steve Potter, far right, about the event on Friday at St. Louis Public Radio in St. Louis.
CREDIT ALEX HEUER / ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO

What do a gay mermaid looking for love, a Jewish mother who competitively wants her single son to have the biggest wedding, and a lesbian version of Dr. Seuss have in common?

They are all themes in this year’s Briefs Festival of Short LGBT Plays, a festival that brings together numerous directors and actors to showcase the work of eight different playwrights under one roof.

The eight plays being performed at the festival on March 27-29 at the Centene Center for the Arts have been selected out of more than 170 submissions from across the country.

On Friday, “Cityscape” host Steve Potter talked about the festival with Joan Lipkin, the festival’s co-producer and artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company; Dr. Ken Haller, a pediatrician and actor; and John Schmidt, a playwright and the winner of the Ken Haller Playwriting Competition for LGBTQ and Allied Youth.

Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBT Plays

  • When: 8 p.m. March 27, 2015; 4 and 8 p.m. March 28, 2015; 2 p.m. March 29, 2015; the Ken Haller Award Reception is 6:30 p.m. March 27, 2015.
  • Where: The Rialto Ballroom at Grand Center, 3547 Olive St., St. Louis
  • More information

“Cityscape” is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.