What artists value when providing workshops for clinical students in a regional training setting: A qualitative study

This study investigates artists’ perspectives in participating as non-traditional (not medically trained) teachers in a clinical training programme. We conducted semi-structured one-to-one interviews with artists who provided art-based workshops to undergraduate clinical students within the ENRICH programme, a unique clinical training programme in regional Australia. We identified five interconnected conceptual themes. Artists’ constructed value in terms of an ethic of reciprocal respect for developing professional identity − their own and of the students. This was constructed in a concept of reciprocal contribution to, and validating support from, local community. Artists’ perspectives should not be regarded as extrinsic to evaluations of clinical training programmes. Artists valued participation that went beyond the usual features of developing student capacities for empathy and insight into patient experiences. We suggest that incorporating artists into programme design from the beginning may provide more opportunities to inclusively develop dimensions of value for all participants.