Applied Drama and Person-Centred Nursing How drama can enhance the education and performance of person-centred practice

This ground-breaking book highlights and extends on the increasing number of research and practice collaborations between the disciplines of drama and nursing across the globe. Uniquely, it presents how drama-based interactive education can enable nursing students to develop an embodied understanding of sympathetic presence within a person-centred curriculum.

This text provides meaningful insights into how to cultivate approaches to be person-centred and sympathetically present in every interaction with others through the application of drama-based methods. The work described within seeks to show how applying drama can help people perform more effective person-centred practices, with applied drama approaches which are in turn more person-centred.

By focusing on the author’s innovative doctoral research study, this book seeks to show how taking part in expertly designed drama practice alongside nursing education leads nurses towards engaging more in person-centredness, overcoming their personal vulnerabilities, showing an enhanced ability to attend to others, and a greater understanding of how to perform presence. Meanwhile showing applied drama practitioners how they can understand facilitation practice through sympathetic presence to discover practical ways to approach an aesthetics of care in their practice.

This book offers a process for nurse educators and applied drama artists to work together in a mutual exchange, where both fields can contribute specialised expertise in developing the next generation of person-centred practitioners.

Part 1. Conceptualising Applied Drama and Person-Centred Nursing.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Exploring the Terrain of Drama and Nursing.- 3. Applying Stanislavski to Nursing Education.- 4. Building a Shared Conceptual Frame.- Part 2. Discussing the Findings.- 5. From Self-Centredness, to Person-Centredness.- 6. Overcoming Vulnerability.- 7. Attending to Others.- 8. Performing Presence.- 9. Conclusion, advocating for the Dyad.

Dr Karl Tizzard-Kleister is a writer, performer, facilitator, and researcher. Karl completed an innovative interdisciplinary PhD in Nursing and Drama at Ulster University. His PhD helped to lay foundations for the field of Drama and Nursing in a unique and exciting way.

He is the co-founder and director of the ground breaking training company Health Action Training Ltd (HAT), who specialises in person-centred nursing training using applied drama methodologies. He has published across drama and nursing disciplines, and has presented and performed at events from both disciplines for the last five years.

Karl also has a master’s in theatre and has worked professionally as a performer, writer, and director. As a co-founder and director of HAT Karl delivers training, leads on quality improvement, and engages in research and evaluation.