Background: The implementation of humanities, and particularly theatre, into the medical curriculum is a nascent but promising field. Here, we report on the Theatre in Community Health Project (TCHP), an initiative devised by University of Ottawa medical students focused on the use of performative theatre with residents in a long-term care facility. We also describe the impact on medical students’ developing communication skills and empathy after they complete the TCHP.

Methods: Two cohorts of first year medical students at the University of Ottawa participated in the TCHP at Villa Marconi Long Term Care Facility (LTC) over two consecutive years. Medical student participants subsequently each completed a critical reflection of their experience and these were used as the basis of our thematic analysis. Using an inductive thematic analysis, 17 themes and the frequency of statements pertaining to each theme were identified.

Results: The analysis of the students’ reflections showed two overarching themes: insight into communicating with geriatric populations and improved insights into long term facilities.

Conclusion: Our study of the TCHP programshows a relationship between medical students’ experiences with audience-oriented performative theatre and increased capacity for empathy and communication toward the targeted audience. The mechanisms by which this increased capacity takes place may be twofold: first, enhanced awareness of the behavioural components of empathy and communication; and second, deeper appreciation for how each patient’s individual context shapes the clinical encounter.