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Moving Us Closer To Osler
A Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence Initiative
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Creative Arts In Medicine
Connecting with Patients
Passion in the Medical Profession
Lifelong Learning in Clinical Excellence
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July 11, 2022 | 5 min read

Navigating Power Relations in Healthcare

By Hailey Haffey, PhD, University of Utah

We must be aware of the power we have in relation to our patients. This imbalance must only be used in the service of care.   

May 6, 2019 | 3 min read

When I Could not Hear my Patient

By Erin Snyder, MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine

Listening and understanding is what leads to true patient partnership, which is what is going to lead to true health.

February 4, 2019 | 1 min read

Behind the Mask

By Mark Stephens, MD, Penn State College of Medicine

Growing into a sense of oneself as a physician requires self-awareness, thoughtfulness, and a habit of reflective practice. The process of art-making represents an interesting way to examine identity formation over time.

March 22, 2023 | 2 min read

Beautiful Bodies

By Drea Burbank, MD, Putumayo, Colombia

I chose to leave healthcare to become a hot yoga instructor. Now I help heal patients in a different way.

May 22, 2023 | 5 min read

“Death is Never Neat”

By Rachel Coghlan, PhD, MPH, Center for Humanitarian Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health

There are many ways we support those journeying through illness and death. Our authentic caring often finds itself in this sometimes-messy space.

March 13, 2023 | 2 min read

Hands

By Drea Burbank, MD, Putumayo, Colombia

Before entering medical school, paramedic school taught me how to comfort patients with a calm and reassuring touch.  

September 30, 2020 | 2 min read

Perspective-taking Through Poetry

By Howard Chang, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Creative writing may enhance our ability to recognize and understand conflicting perspectives in order to better empathize with our patients.

August 5, 2019 | 2 min read

Training and Identity

By Laura Hanyok, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

What parts of yourself do you want to bring back into your life that you may have lost during residency?

July 12, 2022 | 1 min read

When I Doubted my Patient

By Mengyi "Zed" Zha, MD, Othello, Washington

When patients are labeled as “poor historians,” it implies that they’re not to be trusted.

June 10, 2019 | 4 min read

Lessons Learned From my Journey Through Depression

By Shannon Scott-Vernaglia, MD, Mass General

Being a patient has taught me patience, with myself, with those I care about, and with those I care for as physician. 

"Abstract Painting (726)" 1990, Gerhard Richter, Tate Museum.

December 6, 2018 | 5 min read

Lines Blurred

By Ekene Ojukwu, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Really taking care of a patient means making hard choices, saying things people don’t want to hear, and letting them decide if they will engage in their own care. At the same time, it means learning different ways of listening, looking for opportunities and strategies to trust our patients, believing their stories, and seeing them as full individuals

"Nighthawks," Edward Hopper, 1942.

January 2, 2019 | 3 min read

The Human Experience of Illness

By Tina Zhang, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Paintings, photographs, and poems can foster dialogue about the human experience of illness and allow learners to approach challenging topics in a more comfortable way.

The courtyard within the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph by Flora Smyth Zahra.

November 26, 2019 | 7 min read

October Art Museum Challenge

By Flora Smyth Zahra, MA Clin Ed, DRestDent RCS, FHEA, Kings College London, Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Students appreciate the opportunity to engage with one another in the sanctuary of an art museum; the setting itself fosters well-being.

"The Zubaran, St Hugh of Grenoble at the Carthusian Refectory," ca 1663. Owned by Museo de Bellas Artes, Sevilla.

August 13, 2020 | 3 min read

Exploring Professional Identity Through Art

By Angelica Kene Ezeigwe, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Reflecting periodically on why you chose medicine as a career may help you to reconnect with your passion and rekindle the joy of serving patients.

January 26, 2023 | 2 min read

The Things You Don’t Say

By Drea Burbank, MD, Putumayo, Colombia

Writing poetry, like other forms of creative self-expression, can be a way to process distressing events in clinical care.   

October 11, 2022 | 6 min read

Learning About Your Patients And Their Communities

By Hailey Haffey, PhD, University of Utah

Receiving patient and community stories with thoughtful attention can help serve the aims of equity in healthcare. 

July 7, 2022 | 1 min read

Filial Affection

By Corliss Wong, MS4, The University of Hong Kong

We must listen closely to patients with dementia’s thoughts and feelings, even though their sense of reality may be different than our own.

June 23, 2022 | 2 min read

Reflections at The End of a Busy Clinical Year

By Madeline Rodriguez, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Outstanding clinicians are humble, curious, and nonjudgmental. 

April 28, 2022 | 2 min read

Clinical Pearls From Sarah Lewis’ Book “The Rise”

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The journey to mastery is long and full of setbacks. In clinical medicine, a commitment to excellence is a worthy goal; missteps represent growth opportunities, not failures. 

December 22, 2021 | 3 min read

Coping With Grief During The Holidays

By Ankita Sagar, MD, Brooklyn, New York

Having experienced my cousin’s death before Christmas reminds me that December isn’t a joyous time for everyone. I encourage those struggling to connect with loved ones and limit substance use. 

"Planting The Seed of The Heart," by David Kopacz.

September 21, 2021 | 7 min read

How are you . . . really?

By David Kopacz, MD, University of Washington

A helpful practice to connect and understand your patient is to ask, "How are you doing . . . really?” If they’re hesitant to respond, consider sharing something you’ve found stressful lately to open the conversation.

"Shamanic Vision." Original painting by the author. Copyright with the author.

April 2, 2020 | 4 min read

Staying Connected Inside and Out During the Pandemic

By David Kopacz, MD, University of Washington

Finding creative ways to connect to ourselves and to others is more important than ever in these days of social distancing.

WWI Battle of Verdun Cemetery, Verdun, France.

March 23, 2020 | 4 min read

Finding the Right Words—Lessons From Nurse Mary Borden

By Iro Filippaki, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

WWI Nurse Mary Borden's autobiography provides inspiration to search for the right words to describe our experience, and perhaps, find solace as we face the challenges of medicine.

February 26, 2020 | 2 min read

How to Process Emotions as a Team

By Peter Heikkinen, MDiv, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Excellent clinical teams support each other by reflecting on patient encounters and sharing their emotions.

A Reversed Retrogress: Scene 1 (The Purple Shall Govern) (2013), Mary Sibande. Courtesy of the artist and Somerset House London. Photograph by Flora Smyth Zahra.

October 28, 2019 | 5 min read

September Art Museum Challenge

By Flora Smyth Zahra, MA Clin Ed, DRestDent RCS, FHEA, Kings College London, Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

By providing a creative space in which healthcare professionals can build skills integral to clinical practice, while also expressing their vulnerabilities and humanity, art museum-based education can humanize healthcare and provide an antidote to burnout.

July 22, 2019 | 5 min read

5 Lessons From Visible Ink

By Anoushka Sinha, MD, Columbia University

It is humbling to remember we are merely characters in our patients' stories. We are neither the author nor the narrator, and certainly not the lead.

June 4, 2019 | 3 min read

Haiku on Phone

By Crystal Jing Jing Yeo, MD, PhD, MassGeneral, Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard Medical School

To be a true healer is to heal not just in life, but also through dying and death.

The author's drawing of her heart utilizing the technique of defamiliarization.

February 14, 2019 | 3 min read

Defamiliarization

By Sarah Walser, , Penn State College of Medicine

Incorporating defamiliarization into practice builds empathy and broadens our worldview. It challenges us to expand and find confluence between different frameworks through which an experience, such as a disease, can be interpreted.

November 14, 2018 | 2 min read

How Clinicians can use “Wait, what?”

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Asking good questions is fundamental for learning about our patients. Five great questions, assembled by University of Virginia President James Ryan, can help you to connect with, understand, and serve patients better.

March 21, 2023 | 1 min read

Co-Reader

By Randy Barker, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine, retired

When we, or someone close to us, have a disease that we see in our patients, it’s an opportunity to more deeply understand the illness experience.  

February 13, 2023 | 3 min read

“Powershield”

By Drea Burbank, MD, Putumayo, Colombia

“Powershield:” a poem about power and responsibility. 

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