Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the effect that a learning method using art, such as Visual Thinking Strategies, can have on nursing students and residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine; we also aimed to improve skills of observation, communication, empathy and collaboration with the patient and other team members, and evaluate the impact on quality of life, burnout and positivity. Methods: The experimentation was based on administering a form (written assessment) before and after the intervention, to measure the impact of the method on improving some useful skills for the nursing and medical professions by inserting one image of an artistic type and the other of a clinical type, and asking participants to answer basic questions on the VTS method. Students participated in groups of eight in 90-min sessions for four meetings in the classroom and one at the museum, on a weekly basis. Results: The experimental study concerned a randomized controlled sample involving undergraduate nursing students who voluntarily participated in the survey. 84 students took part in the study, including 50 undergraduate nursing students (mean age 22.5, SD 2.7; 14 males and 34 females) and 34 residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine (mean age 28.7, SD 2.6; 8 males and 26 females). For the artistic image, the median of the total score for all skills was −1.5 for the control group and 3 for the intervention group (p = 0.002), registering an increase for the Delta identified items, which was −1.5 for the control group and 1 for the intervention group (p = 0.007). For the clinical image, the median of the total score for all skills was 0 for the control group and 2 for the intervention group (p = 0.025), recording an increase for Delta observation skills, found to be 0 for the control group and 1 for the intervention group (p = 0.007). Conclusions: Most students who participated in the intervention reported considerable improvements in the skills the method promises to improve, and a reduction in personal and work burnout scores, suggesting that the use of the VTS method in health professions curricula is viable.

Art experience is not solely the observation of artistic objects, but great relevance is also placed on the environment in which the art experience takes place, often in museums and galleries. Interestingly, in the last few years, the introduction of some forms of virtual reality (VR) in museum contexts has been increasing. This has solicited enormous research interest in investigating any eventual differences between looking at the same artifact either in a real context (e.g. a museum) and in VR. To address such a target, a neuroaesthetic study was performed in which electroencephalography (EEG) and autonomic signals (heart rate and skin conductance) were recorded during the observation of the Etruscan artifact “Sarcophagus of the Spouses”, both in the museum and in a VR reproduction. Results from EEG analysis showed a higher level of the Workload Index during observation in the museum compared to VR (p = 0.04), while the Approach–Withdrawal Index highlighted increased levels during the observation in VR compared to the observation in the museum (p = 0.03). Concerning autonomic indices, the museum elicited a higher Emotional Index response than the VR (p = 0.03). Overall, preliminary results suggest a higher engagement potential of the museum compared to VR, although VR could also favour higher embodiment than the museum.

Scientific literature demonstrated the impairment in cognitive/executive functions and pragmatic language in SLE patients, potentially involving also asymptomatic subjects. The present study focuses on the assessment in an SLE cohort of emotional intelligence, which is an ability regulated by the network of the executive functions, cognitive abilities involved in the initiation, planning, organization, and regulation of achievement-oriented behaviors: with emotional. Thus, emotional intelligence, defined as the ability to reason with emotions, was evaluated in a SLE cohort diagnosed according to the 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria. As control healthy subjects were enrolled. The Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), a skill-scale that measures the ability to perform tasks and solve emotional problems, was administered to patients and controls. Second, a group of SLE patients underwent the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) method in order to assess the potential impact of art in cognitive skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and emotional intelligence quotient. The protocol also included the evaluation of the improvement of some skills using a validated VTS skill grid. Self-reported scales for anxiety and depression were performed to rule out the influence of mood disorders on emotional intelligence. The present study demonstrated similar quotient scores of emotional intelligence in SLE patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, VTS method could help in improving this cognitive ability in patients, by implementing critical thinking and problem solving, promoting empathy, and improving tolerance to ambiguity and relational capacity.

Medical Humanities approach is becoming an important action in the health curriculum. Art can play a central role in the training of care staff for the development of skills and for the humanization of the therapeutic path. The application of art as a tool for learning and its historical relationship with medicine can be a valid support for the development of skills such as observation, active listening, problem solving and empathy, useful for improving the profession and the relationship with the patient. It is possible to rediscover the link between art, medicine, and care to help health professionals to improve their activities and resilience. Particular methods such as that of the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) can help health students and professionals to become better actors in the care context.