Research Guides: Graphic Medicine @ ECU: Using Graphic Medicine in the Classroom

Using Graphic Medicine in the Health Sciences Classroom

Image from: https://learning2grow.org/using-comics-to-teach-literacy/

Why should you use Graphic Medicine as a teaching tool within the Health Sciences?

Graphic medicine offers a powerful tool for health sciences classrooms, providing a vivid portrayal of patient experiences that supplements traditional teaching methods. Through its narrative approach, it fosters empathy and understanding among students, enriching their grasp of patient perspectives and the principles of narrative medicine. Furthermore, its accessibility and visual nature make it an effective medium for patient education, simplifying complex medical concepts and fostering greater patient engagement and comprehension.

Below are videos, teaching ideas, and current evidence-based literature about graphic medicine that can be used in Health Sciences classrooms. Scroll down or visit by section:

Graphic Medicine Teaching Ideas

Below are classroom exercises, teaching tools, and examples of how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

Note: In order by title, not by relevance.

By Stealth and By Design…Using Graphic Medicine as a Teaching Tool in Medical School
In this post, Liz Brewster shares material from her recent talk on integrating graphic narratives into medical education
Comics for Health & Medicine - 7 classes in Graphic Medicine
This module uses comics and drawing activities to help students better understand the multiple perspectives of those who interact with the health care system, and shows how comics can be used to communicate about the illness experience. The following seven classes provide suggested readings, discussions, activities, and a comic-making project, for guiding students’ study of how images and text can be used together to effectively communicate stories.
Graphic Medicine - Using Comics as a Self-Care Tool for Students
A seminar at Marquette University investigated whether exposure to graphic medicine increases empathy and interest in healthcare careers among undergraduates. While self-rated empathy remained consistent, students reported a deeper understanding of patient experiences, suggesting graphic medicine's value in patient empathy. However, the exposure didn't significantly increase interest in healthcare careers, highlighting its potential as a tool for self-expression and understanding rather than career motivation.
Graphic Medicine Creative Activities Worksheets
This series of eight creative worksheets was created for an undergraduate course titled “Graphic Medicine: Graphic Novels, Narrative Medicine and Healing.” These worksheets can function as an enrichment activity that can be used in the classroom in-person or online via synchronous, asynchronous or blended pedagogical modes. Learners are encouraged to complete each of the activities to the best of their abilities where free expression and creative ways of knowing remain the core learning objectives.
Graphic Medicine Syllabus Repository
The Graphic Medicine International Collective (GMIC) fosters collaboration by inviting teachers of graphic medicine to share their syllabi, facilitating access to a diverse range of courses worldwide. GMIC is excited to present the collected syllabi, showcasing the quality and variety of offerings available in the field of comics and medicine education.
Mapping the Use of Comics in Health Education: A Scoping Review of the Graphic Medicine Literature
Since Fall 2016, a scoping review project led by Matthew Noe, MLS, has been ongoing to examine the use of comics in health education, stemming from a Gold Foundation grant. The study aimed to map out the demographics targeted and effects observed from implementing comics in health education. Despite extending past its intended timeline, the results are now being shared, highlighting the significant growth in published literature on comics in healthcare since 2017 and providing a starting point for future research in this area.
Teaching with Comics: A Course for 4th year Medical Students
This paper outlines an innovative course on comics and medicine designed for fourth-year medical students, emphasizing critical analysis of graphic narratives and creation of their own stories. Despite the widespread integration of comics in educational settings, they have not typically been incorporated into medical school curricula, highlighting the unique approach and rationale behind this course.
Using Comics to Teach (Digital) Literacy
This this is not specific to a health sciences classroom, it gives examples of using comics and graphics to teach about diversity, multimodal learning, literacy, patient/clinician reflections, and storyboarding - which can be a part of narrative medicine.
Using Graphic Medicine in Teaching Multicultural Nursing
The study explores the effectiveness of incorporating comics into nursing education, particularly in teaching multicultural nursing, demonstrating significant improvements in students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Findings indicate that utilizing comics as an active learning tool enhances engagement and facilitates better learning outcomes compared to traditional teaching methods, suggesting its potential applicability beyond the study context.

Graphic Medicine Teaching Videos

Below are videos sharing how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

Note: In order by title, not by relevance.

Introduction to Graphic Medicine with Matthew Noe via the National Library of Medicine (2017)

Why Comics Work for Risk Communication via the National Library of Medicine (2023)

A Conversation about Graphic Medicine via the National Library of Medicine (2022)

What is Graphic Medicine with Rachel Lindsay via Vermont Humanities (2023)

Graphic Medicine: Drawing our Way to Collaborative Care via

NPAF: the National Patient Advocate Foundation (2024)

How My Mom and I Humanized Healthcare through Graphic Medicine with Sam Hester

via TedXYYC (2021)

Comics, Superheros, & Graphic Medicine via Faculty of Arts University of Auckland (2024)

Comics in the Age of COVID-19 via American Library Association (2020)

Health Literacy! It just got Graphic via the National Library of Medicine (2021)

Graphic Medicine in Evidence-Based Literature (Selected Articles)

Below are selected evidence-based, peer-reviewed articles sharing how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

If you'd like to do a basic literature search on your own for the newest information on using Graphic Medicine in a Health Sciences curriculum or classroom try the search strategy below:

Search Strategy:
(comic* OR cartoon* OR manga OR “visual narrative” OR “graphic narrative” OR “graphic medicine” OR “comic book” OR “graphic novel”) AND (medical OR medicine OR nursing OR “nursing profession” OR “health science*” OR dental OR “allied health”) AND (education OR curriculum OR teaching OR unit OR “patient education”)

Image from: https://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/186501?path=/bmj/340/7746/Analysis.full.pdf

Note: In order by first author, not by relevance:

Alkureishi et al - Impact of an Educational Comic to Enhance Patient-Physician–Electronic Health Record Engagement: Prospective Observational Study (2021)
Alkureishi, M. A., Johnson, T., Nichols, J., Dhodapkar, M., Czerwiec, M. K., Wroblewski, K., Arora, V. M., & Lee, W. W. (2021). Impact of an Educational Comic to Enhance Patient-Physician-Electronic Health Record Engagement: Prospective Observational Study. JMIR human factors, 8(2), e25054. https://doi.org/10.2196/25054
Araya - Developing a health education comic book: the advantages of learning the behaviours of a target audience (2021)
Araya, B., Pena, P., & Leiner, M. (2021). Developing a health education comic book: the advantages of learning the behaviours of a target audience. Journal of visual communication in medicine, 44(3), 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/17453054.2021.1924639
Bradley et al - What can medical education learn from comics? (2021)
Bradley, S., Mclean, R., & Brewster, L. (2021). What can medical education learn from comics?. The clinical teacher, 18(6), 675–678. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13427
Chin et al - Improvisational and Standup Comedy, Graphic Medicine, and Theatre of the Oppressed to Teach Advancing Health Equity (2022)
Chin, M. H., Orlov, N. M., Callender, B. C., Dolan, J. A., Miller, D. C., Peek, M. E., Rusiecki, J. M., & Vela, M. B. (2022). Improvisational and Standup Comedy, Graphic Medicine, and Theatre of the Oppressed to Teach Advancing Health Equity. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 97(12), 1732–1737. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004905
Consorti et al - Graphic Novels and Comics in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Students Education: A Scoping Review (2023)
Consorti, F., Fiorucci, S., Martucci, G., & Lai, S. (2023). Graphic Novels and Comics in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Students Education: A Scoping Review. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 13(10), 2262–2275. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13100160
The Graphic Medicine Review Online Journal (OPEN ACCESS)
The Graphic Medicine Review (GMR) (ISSN 2993-8252) publishes scholarly works relevant to both the comics medium (aka comic books, graphic novels, manga, bande dessinée, etc.) and healthcare, medicine, wellness, patient experience, and public health policy. GMR is an open-access resource primarily produced in English but international in scope and concerns.
Green & Myers - Graphic medicine: Use of comics in medical education and patient care (2010)
Green, M. J., & Myers, K. R. (2010). Graphic medicine: Use of comics in medical education and patient care. Bmj, 340(7746), 574-577. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c863
Hoffman - Using Graphic Narratives in Pharmacy Education (2023)
Hoffman A. (2023). Using Graphic Narratives in Pharmacy Education. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 87(4), ajpe8797. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8797
Kathiah et al - Evaluating the Impact of Cartoon-Based Learning on Student Performance and Engagement in Medical Education: An Experimental Study (2024)
Kathiah, R., Daya A, P., Mp, S., & Selvakumar, S. (2024). Evaluating the Impact of Cartoon-Based Learning on Student Performance and Engagement in Medical Education: An Experimental Study. Cureus, 16(2), e54684. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.54684
Koven & Soled - A Disembodied Dementia: Graphic Medicine and Illness Narratives (2022)
Kovan, S. B., & Soled, D. R. (2023). A Disembodied Dementia: Graphic Medicine and Illness Narratives. The Journal of medical humanities, 44(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-022-09766-x
Lesińska-Sawicka - Using graphic medicine in teaching multicultural nursing: a quasi-experimental study (2023)
Lesińska-Sawicka M. (2023). Using graphic medicine in teaching multicultural nursing: a quasi-experimental study. BMC medical education, 23(1), 255. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04223-2
Li - Drawing on medical school experiences (2023)
Li O. (2023). Drawing on medical school experiences. International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England), 35(7-8), 605–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2023.2259464
Maatman et al - Emotional Content of Comics Drawn by Medical Students and Residents (2020)
Maatman, T. C., Vugrnick, B., Manak, C., Wrzosek, M., Usher, C., Williams, J., & Fletcher, K. E. (2020). Emotional Content of Comics Drawn by Medical Students and Residents. Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry, 44(5), 572–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01261-6
Maatman et al - Graphic Medicine in Graduate Medical Education (2022)
Maatman, T., Green, M. J., & Noe, M. N. (2022). Graphic Medicine in Graduate Medical Education. Journal of graduate medical education, 14(1), 113–114. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-21-01107.1
Masel et al - Using medical comics to explore challenging everyday topics in medicine: lessons learned from teaching medical humanities (2020)
Masel, E. K., Adamidis, F., Kitta, A., Gruebl, A., Unseld, M., Pavelka, P., Watzke, H. H., Zlabinger, G., & Praschinger, A. (2020). Using medical comics to explore challenging everyday topics in medicine: lessons learned from teaching medical humanities. Annals of palliative medicine, 9(4), 1841–1846. https://doi.org/10.21037/apm-20-261
O'Flynn-Magee - Stepping out of the shadows: Creating a graphic novella to address bullying in nursing education (2021)
O'Flynn-Magee, K., Ong, S., & Esson, L. (2021). Stepping out of the shadows: Creating a graphic novella to address bullying in nursing education. Nurse education today, 99, 104740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104740
Obuobi et al - Comics as anti-racist education and advocacy (2021)
Obuobi, S., Vela, M. B., & Callender, B. (2021). Comics as anti-racist education and advocacy. Lancet (London, England), 397(10285), 1615–1617. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00940-5
Praschinger - Medical comic in medical education and palliative care (2024)
Praschinger A. (2024). Medical comic in medical education and palliative care. Annals of palliative medicine, 13(1), 187–189. https://doi.org/10.21037/apm-23-83
Ronan & Czerwiec - A Novel Graphic Medicine Curriculum for Resident Physicians: Boosting Empathy and Communication through Comics (2020)
Ronan, L. K., & Czerwiec, M. K. (2020). A Novel Graphic Medicine Curriculum for Resident Physicians: Boosting Empathy and Communication through Comics. The Journal of medical humanities, 41(4), 573–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09654-2
Shapiro et al - Medical Students’ Creation of Original Poetry, Comics, and Masks to Explore Professional Identity Formation (2021)
Shapiro, J., McMullin, J., Miotto, G., Nguyen, T., Hurria, A., & Nguyen, M. A. (2021). Medical Students' Creation of Original Poetry, Comics, and Masks to Explore Professional Identity Formation. The Journal of medical humanities, 42(4), 603–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-021-09713-2
Shimazaki et al - Emotional experiences of reading health educational manga encouraging behavioral changes: a non-randomized controlled trial (2021)
Shimazaki, T., Iio, M., Uechi, H., & Takenaka, K. (2021). Emotional experiences of reading health educational manga encouraging behavioral changes: a non-randomized controlled trial. Health psychology and behavioral medicine, 9(1), 398–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2021.1921583
Sinnenberg et al - Communicating Guideline Recommendations Using Graphic Narrative Versus Text-Based Broadcast Screensavers: Design and Implementation Study (2021)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8713086/
more...less...
Sinnenberg, L., Umscheid, C. A., Shofer, F. S., Leri, D., & Meisel, Z. F. (2021). Communicating Guideline Recommendations Using Graphic Narrative Versus Text-Based Broadcast Screensavers: Design and Implementation Study. JMIR human factors, 8(4), e27171. https://doi.org/10.2196/27171
Sutherland et al - "Brought to life through imagery" - animated graphic novels to promote empathic, patient-centred care in postgraduate medical learners (2021)
Sutherland, T., Choi, D., & Yu, C. (2021). "Brought to life through imagery" - animated graphic novels to promote empathic, patient-centred care in postgraduate medical learners. BMC medical education, 21(1), 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02491-4
Tigges et al - Graphic Narrative Versus Journal Article for Teaching Medical Students About P Values: A Randomized Trial (2021)
Tigges, S., Krupinski, E., Luhanga, U., Schulman, D., & Risk, B. (2021). Graphic Narrative Versus Journal Article for Teaching Medical Students About P Values: A Randomized Trial. Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR, 18(8), 1176–1178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2021.03.013
Tiwari et al - Image-Based Communication for Strengthening Patient Health Education in Rural and Underserved Settings (2023)
Tiwari, R. R., Pandey, B., & Chaudhari, K. S. (2023). Image-Based Communication for Strengthening Patient Health Education in Rural and Underserved Settings. Cureus, 15(7), e41279. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.41279
Whiting - Comics as Reflection: In Opposition to Formulaic Recipes for Reflective Processes (2020)
Whiting J. (2020). Comics as Reflection: In Opposition to Formulaic Recipes for Reflective Processes. The Permanente journal, 24, 19.134. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/19.134
Williams - Graphic medicine: comics as medical narrative (2011)
Williams I. C. M. (2012). Graphic medicine: comics as medical narrative. Medical Humanities, 38, 21-27. https://mh.bmj.com/content/38/1/21

What is Graphic Medicine?

Carrie Forbes, MLS

Carrie Forbes

She/Her/Hers

Email Me

Contact:

Laupus Library
Room 2518
East Carolina University
600 Moye Blvd.
Greenville, NC 27834

252-744-2217 -OR- 252-689-8734 (TEXT)

Subjects: Nursing

Graphic Medicine @ ECU: Using Graphic Medicine in the Classroom

Banner

Using Graphic Medicine in the Health Sciences Classroom

Why should you use Graphic Medicine as a teaching tool within the Health Sciences?

Below are videos, teaching ideas, and current evidence-based literature about graphic medicine that can be used in Health Sciences classrooms. Scroll down or visit by section:

Graphic Medicine Teaching Ideas

Graphic Medicine Videos

Selected Graphic Medicine Evidence-Based, Peer-Reviewed Articles

Graphic Medicine Teaching Ideas

Below are classroom exercises, teaching tools, and examples of how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

Note: In order by title, not by relevance.

Graphic Medicine Teaching Videos

Below are videos sharing how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

Note: In order by title, not by relevance.

Introduction to Graphic Medicine with Matthew Noe via the National Library of Medicine (2017)

Why Comics Work for Risk Communication via the National Library of Medicine (2023)

A Conversation about Graphic Medicine via the National Library of Medicine (2022)

What is Graphic Medicine with Rachel Lindsay via Vermont Humanities (2023)

Graphic Medicine: Drawing our Way to Collaborative Care via

NPAF: the National Patient Advocate Foundation (2024)

How My Mom and I Humanized Healthcare through Graphic Medicine with Sam Hester

via TedXYYC (2021)

Comics, Superheros, & Graphic Medicine via Faculty of Arts University of Auckland (2024)

Comics in the Age of COVID-19 via American Library Association (2020)

Health Literacy! It just got Graphic via the National Library of Medicine (2021)

Graphic Medicine in Evidence-Based Literature (Selected Articles)

Below are selected evidence-based, peer-reviewed articles sharing how graphic medicine has been used in Medical, Nursing, Health Sciences, and undergraduate courses.

Image from: https://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/186501?path=/bmj/340/7746/Analysis.full.pdf

Note: In order by first author, not by relevance:

What is Graphic Medicine?

Carrie Forbes, MLS