The Effect of Creative Drama Education on Students' Empathic Tendencies and Emotion Management Skills

An experiential and active approach to learning can be applied to higher education through all arts. One of the artistic methods that supports active and experiential learning in this context is creative drama. Creative drama is an educational method designed to impart specific cognitive, affective, and psychomotor objectives, without age or subject limitations. The importance of creative drama lies in its ability to teach through the most realistic experience, by doing and living, thereby enhancing achievement, learning, and retention. Creative drama can be used in midwifery education to bridge the gap between theory and practice, to engage students in group activities where they can explore care practices, events, and relationships, to help students discover knowledge gaps, and to provide deeper learning. It is believed that creative drama supports midwifery students' communication skills , reflective and ethical skills, and critical thinking. Through this method, students can increase their self-awareness, develop empathy by thinking like a patient, and experience the outcomes of midwifery care. Therefore, drama can be used in midwifery education to alleviate fears and anxieties related to clinical birth experiences and to develop empathic skills.

Communication, an essential element of our lives and the foundation of information exchange, plays a significant role in the patient-midwife relationship. Establishing healthy patient-midwife communication, which requires mutual respect, support, and trust, is indispensable for the treatment process. Empathic communication plays a critical role in midwifery, a profession that dates back as far as human existence. Empathy skills, which are crucial in the development of interpersonal communication, enable people to understand the situation of others and socialize with each other.

Birth is both a universal phenomenon and a unique experience. During this process, women need the support of others. Health professionals, especially midwives and obstetricians, have significant responsibilities in providing this support . One of the primary responsibilities of the midwife is to provide emotional and physical support to the woman during labor. To provide this support effectively, midwives need to have well-developed empathy skills. Empathy is the process of accurately understanding another person's feelings and thoughts by putting oneself in their place and communicating this understanding to them.

It is known that emotions are important factors influencing human behavior. Past emotions and the anticipation of future negative events can impact an individual's present. In emotion management, it is important to focus on the present, free from the influence of the past and future.

The management of emotions becomes particularly significant in professions involving a professional identity and human relationships. The healthcare sector is an area where direct and prolonged contact with people occurs, making communication and thus emotion management crucial. Among healthcare professionals, midwives are one of the professions that interact the most with patients or their relatives.