The Reflective Educator: Poetry-based Faculty Development for Professional Identity and Wellbeing

Date: Friday, 25 September 2026 | Time: 1635 - 1805 | Venue: L1-S1, Academia (SGH Campus)

Track Type: Workshop

Speaker(s):

Overview:

This experiential faculty development workshop introduces healthcare educators to Poetic Medicine, an evidence-based reflective practice methodology developed by the Institute for Poetic Medicine (USA). Grounded in transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1991), this approach uses poetry as a vehicle for critical reflection on professional experience. Systematic reviews demonstrate that poetry-based interventions enhance reflective capacity, reduce educator burnout, and strengthen professional identity formation (Schoonover et al, 2020; Mangione et al, 2018).

The 90-minute session, facilitated by trained practitioners, will provide faculty with a personal wellbeing intervention while building pedagogical competencies transferable to their own teaching. Attendees will engage in a structured learning sequence of guided listening, reflective writing, and facilitated sharing. Curated poems and quotations serve as thought-provoking materials for reflection on healthcare education experiences. Writing prompts scaffold the reflective process, enabling educators to examine their professional values, teaching philosophy, and sources of meaning.

Central to this workshop is the practice of deep listening—a core facilitation skill for creating psychologically safe learning environments. When attendees share their writing, others practise witnessing without critique, modelling the non-judgmental feedback approaches essential to effective mentorship and learner-centred education. We conclude with a Poetry Pharmacy activity and explicit discussion of curriculum applications, enabling faculty to adapt these techniques for their own educational contexts.

This workshop aligns with contemporary faculty development priorities: cultivating reflective practitioners, supporting educator resilience, and expanding the pedagogical toolkit for humanities-integrated teaching. Participants will leave with renewed professional perspective and practical strategies for fostering reflection.

Learning Outcome(s):

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Demonstrate deep listening skills that support meaningful professional dialogue and create psychological safety—a foundational competency for effective mentorship, feedback, and learner-centred facilitation
2. Identify personal and professional factors that sustain educator resilience and contribute to professional identity formation
3. Apply structured reflective writing techniques to critically examine their professional identity and challenges, teaching philosophy, and educator experiences
4. Design adaptations of poetry-based reflective activities for integration into their own curriculum, teaching sessions, or faculty development programmes

Target Audience:

This faculty development workshop welcomes healthcare educators across all disciplines and career stages, including clinician-educators, nursing faculty, pharmacy & allied health educators, residency programme directors, and education leaders. The workshop is particularly relevant for those involved in curriculum design, mentorship, or faculty development initiatives.

No prior experience with poetry or creative writing is required—the emphasis is on authentic reflection rather than literary skill. Participants should be prepared to engage in personal reflection within a supportive peer learning environment.

While facilitated in English, participants may write in any language.