Playing with ‘status’

Playing with ‘status’ 540 360 Esther Waterhouse

One of the things that health care professionals often struggle with is dealing with uncertainty.  It’s difficult to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘we don’t know how things will go’ when someone’s loved one is seriously unwell. In the absence of certainty, we often give either false reassurance, or no information.  This is done with good intentions – but it risks a loss of trust and often leaves patients and families unprepared.

So how can Medical Improv help?  A focus on ‘status’ can open up some interesting insights, reflections and changes in behaviour.  ‘Status’ in the world of theatre is not about hierarchy.  It is about ‘standing’ or ‘presence’.  A king may be a low-status ‘fool’; a court jester may be a high status wise person.  Many shows that we all enjoy focus on status – changes of status, implications of status, the humour that comes when we play with it.  Perhaps you can think of some?  

When we look at status in the world of Medical Improv, we are really looking at how we can maintain a calm, confident, compassionate presence in the midst of uncertainty.  What assumptions will the patient (or their family, or a colleague) make, often subconsciously, based on our body language, or our vocal pitch?  In these exercises we can, quite literally, play around with these ideas and see what happens when we talk more quickly, or deepen our voice, or modify our stance.  

Why not come and have a play and see how small changes in body language and non-verbal communication make a big difference to how you, and the message you are giving, is perceived?