“HEARTS”  

By Serin Baek, Connie Cai, Francesca Giorgianni, Olivia Liu, Divya Manikandan, Karen Qi, Aileen Zhang, medical students, Richard Schaefer, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine 

“Wouldn’t it be great if our med school had an annual art symposium?”  

Our medical school has an annual research symposium in which students present their scientific projects. It’s an excellent event, but we thought a similar showcase for art would be just as noteworthy.  We formed a planning committee and went to work. 

We developed a name, logo, flyer, agenda, and menu. We planned a myriad of logistical details for the event and called for submissions. Students at Hopkins answered our call—we received over 40 entries in a wide variety of mediums. 

Finally, after a year of planning, Hopkins Evening of the Arts (HEARTS) was here. And what an amazing evening it was! It started with a “mocktail hour,” with four custom non-alcoholic beverages, each representing one of the four colleges of our school. These mocktails were works of art themselves with fruity decorations and a blend of delectable flavors. HEARTS also included performances of music, dance, and spoken word, as well as an art gallery of students and faculty paintings, drawings, pottery, jewelry, and photography.   

There were opportunities for everyone to be creative. Students doodled with crayons, molded clay sculptures, made paper flowers, and painted a colorful three by five-foot mural designed by a member of our team, that will adorn the walls of the school. Over 100 attendees were also able to engage with the community beyond Hopkins by getting connected to volunteer opportunities and participating in a donation drive with Art with a Hearts, a non-profit organization that fosters free art curricula for local youth. The theme of HEARTS was “building community through expression,” and a spirit of togetherness and camaraderie was present throughout the evening.  

Arts and humanities can support the well-being of the healthcare professional while helping them develop interdisciplinary critical thinking and diagnostic skills. They also provide an opportunity for reflection on patients and self.  One attendee noted in a feedback form that HEARTS was both a “humanizing and fun experience.” 

We hope that HEARTS inspires students to think not only about how humanities might shape their medical practice but also how art might help them facilitate community building, wherever they might find themselves.  

“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”—William Osler

This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.