Dr. Aaron Anderson to meet with Theatre & Dance Faculty, Staff, and Students about the Standardized Patient Program at VCU

As part of the “Year of the Arts” activities for 2014-2015, the College of the Arts will be hosting Dr. Aaron Anderson from Virginia Commonwealth University January 28-29, 2015 to meet with our Theatre and Dance faculty and students.

Dr. Anderson will be speaking with students and faculty about the Standardized Patient (simulated patient) program at VCU which involves working with the VCU School of Medicine to better equip health care providers with the necessary skills to understand and communicate with patients in challenging environments and situations.  Presenting work done through a program of this nature addresses Valdosta State University’s goal to consider innovative practices that potentially affect academic programs across university campuses and will involve regional community partners such as area medical centers and patient representative organizations.  Additionally, programs of this nature create opportunities to expand public knowledge about creative practices being utilized in an unconventional manner.

Details for Dr. Anderson’s agenda can be found below. Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to attend the presentation and have an opportunity to meet with Dr. Anderson.

Questions or correspondences about Dr. Anderson’s visit can be sent to Professor Jacque Wheeler in the Theatre and Dance program at jwheeler@valdosta.edu  or by calling 229-333-5829.

http://www.spectrum.vcu.edu/tag/standardized-patient-program/#.VMavrfA5B9M

Additional information about the presenter:

Aaron D. Anderson PhD is Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Theatre, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Assistant Director of the MFA Program in Movement Pedagogy, Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine, Certified Teacher and Fight Director with three international organizations, and Founding Director of VCU’s Standardized Patient Program.

He holds an Interdisciplinary PhD in Culture from Northwestern University and an MFA in Theatre from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

In addition to his work in theatre and drama, he specializes in qualitative and mixed-method research design, pedagogy and curriculum design, theories of the body and methods of movement analysis. He is a recognized expert on media violence and on the use of theatre training and performance studies in applied social science, and has designed the curricula for several national and international teacher certification programs.

In 2007, Dr. Anderson was awarded VCU’s School of the Arts Award for Distinguished Achievement in Service. In 2008 he shared the Educational Innovation Award from VCU’s School of Medicine for pioneering research in the field of healthcare communication; and in 2012 he was honored with VCU’s School of the Arts’ Award of Excellence.

Other work at VCU includes teaching at the daVinci Center, the Brand Center, the Center for Corporate Education, the MBA Executive Fast Track, the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and other programs. Nationally he also lectures and consults for businesses, healthcare systems, governmental agencies, and leadership institutes.

Publications include work in the journals Jump Cut, Theatre Symposium, The Asian Journal of Communications, Theatre History Studies, The Fight Master, The Journal of General Internal Medicine, Medical Encounters, and The Journal of Investigative Medicine; and in the books Chinese Connections: Critical Perspectives on Film, Identity, and Diaspora, and The Psychology of Empathy.