National University naturopathic medicine faculty member, Stephanie Draus, ND, will give a presentation at the upcoming Society for Arts in Healthcare annual international conference on May 3 in Detroit.

Her presentation is titled:“Using the Arts to Teach Empathy, Ethics, and Effective Communication in an Integrative Medicine Curriculum.” She will incorporate her experience in using reflective and experiential arts-based exercises to teach empathy, ethics and communication skills to students in the naturopathic medicine program at National University.

Dr. Draus has a background in theater and dance, and has a private practice in Chicago where she focuses on working with artists. She often employs innovative exercises in her naturopathic counseling class to challenge students to more fully embrace patient-centered care. A cross-section of arts are woven into daily classroom exercises. These provide opportunity for reflection and dialogue on various aspects of health, illness and medicine. This multidimensional and experiential immersion broadens and deepens the students’ communication skills and ethical awareness.