Creative Health: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Enhance Learning Between Undergraduate Nursing and Visual Art Students

Abstract: During the Spring 2024 semester, undergraduate nursing and visual art students from two different campuses developed artwork that depicted an aspect of a chronic illness experienced by the aging population. In this article, we investigate the students’ experiences in the “Art and Nursing Collaboration Assignment,” particularly in relation to interdisciplinary teamwork. Analyzing both groups of students’ pre- and post-reflections we investigate the question “What are the experiences of visual art and nursing undergraduate students working on an interdisciplinary collaborative project?” Our findings reveal four major themes pertaining to interdisciplinarity: new interdisciplinary experience for students, increased educational skills in educating others, development of a complementary perspective on illness by nursing students,  and improved understanding and application of disciplinary practice. Taken as a whole, the ideas expressed in the nursing and art students’ reflections indicate an overarching theme of strengthening their respective disciplinary practice as a result of taking on new disciplinary perspectives.