Medical humanities students fashion quilt for Waco’s Avance Center

In this post, Linda W. Bostwick, family nurse practitioner in Baylor Health Services, discusses a recent project completed by Baylor medical humanities students.

——————-

Baylor Medical Humanities Class Photo and Sue copy

In designing the interdisciplinary course “Visual Arts and Healing” for Baylor’s medical humanities curriculum, the cornerstone of the course was to be a service learning project. This past spring, medical humanities students worked with fabric artist Sue Benner and art professors Mary Ruth Smith and Leah Force to design a quilt for the new Avance Center, a non-profit organization that focuses on early childhood development and parent education.

Students spent time observing the environment at the Avance Center, located in East Waco. Based on these observations, students chose a size, theme and location for the quilt. Each student then designed a quilt square incorporating a serape theme and one letter of the alphabet.

Avance Letter Quilt_full view copy

Through this project, students explored how art effects an environment. Furthermore, by making art, our students are utilizing some of the same motor skills they will need in the health care profession. They also gain the satisfaction of creating a beautiful gift.

Finally, the students experienced the therapeutic effects of creating art –- a discovery that will provide them a healthy outlet for the rest of their lives.

Linda W. Bostwick, CRN, MN
Family Nurse Practitioner
Baylor University Health Services

——————-

STUDENTS IN PHOTO AT TOP:

Back row, L to R: Breanna Davis, Kirstin Manka, Nipa Patel, Sue Benner, Stephanie Frawley, Ann Dyer, Jessica Gonzales, Dylan Magee, Hayden Smith
Front row, L to R: Cesar Davila Chapa, Hillary Villarreal, Erin Witter, Bianca Jimenez, Anji Patel, Brinda Chellappan, Estela Rodriquez Alonso, Caroline Tessler, Nadia Ullah

Leave a Reply