Julia Langley and Pamela Saunders Presented their Work in Symposium Co-Chaired by Saunders, at the Gerontological Society of America 2019 Meeting
Posted in Past events | Tagged Fall 2019, Julia Langley, Pamela Saunders
Julia Langley and Pamela Saunders presented their work in the “Creating Strength in Age: Harnessing the Power of Arts and Humanities Network” symposium, co-chaired by Pamela Saunders and Gay Hanna, at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2019 Meeting, which was held in Austin, Texas, from November 13 to 17, 2019.
In her presentation, Langley described how the Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program supports the continuum of care by encouraging a creative and constructive response to illness through the use of music, dance, expressive writing and visual arts. Artists-in-residence at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital work throughout the hospital, with in-patients and out-patients, in waiting rooms, intensive care units, and clinics. At the same time, the AHP recognizes the need to introduce the next generation of physicians, nurses, and medical professionals to the benefits of interacting with the arts to improve skills of observation, communication, empathy, and perspective-taking to serve all populations, especially older patients living with chronic illness.
Saunders presented a case study of the interdisciplinary Georgetown MS degree in Aging & Health, which, informed by AGHE competencies including arts, ethics, and humanities, provides theoretically and scientifically grounded content, hands-on experience, and professional engagement. In her case study, Saunders found themes that illustrate the value of harnessing the power of arts, humanities, and ethics, including a diverse, and intergenerational cohort, and students’ cultural value systems.
Read Julia Langley’s abstract.