From experience to integration: the arts in nursing education.

Exploring the expressive arts within nursing education promotes understanding of what it means to be human and allows students to communicate with patients in unique and meaningful ways. "Arts in Healing," a three-credit elective course designed to provide experiences in creating and appreciating different art forms and to illuminate the healing elements in each, was offered in both the graduate and undergraduate nursing programs. Students at all levels, including pre-nursing, participated together. The article provides a course description and objectives and discusses implications for nurse educators. Examples of how nurses integrated what they learned from the course into their own practice are provided.