Some doctors-in-training recently got an arts education.
According to a news release from the Bassett Healthcare Network, internal medicine and transitional year residents as well as cardiology fellows at Bassett Medical Center participated in workshops at Fenimore Art Museum during September and October as part of Bassett’s newly reinstated Arts in Health program.
Studies, including one by Yale School of Medicine, “have shown that the incorporation of the arts into health care settings may reduce burnout, improve professionalism, enhance empathy towards colleagues and patients, and improve communication and teamwork within the workplace,” the release stated.
The sessions began with the group studying a portrait in the museum’s collection for three to five minutes. After the viewing period, a moderator stimulated discussion with prompts such as, “What do you think is going on in this painting?”, “What do you see that makes you say that?”, “Does this painting evoke an emotional response?” and “What more can you see?”. Titles and curatorial interpretations of the piece were concealed to allow the viewers to develop their own observations and interpretations. They were asked to reflect on the subject’s demeanor, physical appearance and environment. The physicians were then invited to describe how their impressions of the painting might have changed, given this additional context, according to the release. The exercise was repeated with two works of art in the museum.
The second part of the workshop involved a hands-on drawing activity. The group divided into pairs and simultaneously drew portraits of each other using a “blind-contour” technique, during which the artist looks only at the subject, not at the drawing, while using one continuous line.
“Sharp observational skills are a key component of physician education — as they are for visual artist education. When one removes preconceptions about what one is observing — whether it be patient or subject — truth can be revealed or enhanced and the patient or subject might be better understood,” said Emily Falco, coordinator of Bassett’s Arts in Health program. “Studies suggest that when physicians engage in exercises like the one given at Fenimore Art Museum, empathy and respect toward patients may increase and diagnostic skills may be sharpened. The program aimed to foster visual thinking strategies through art observation and nurture the physicians’ abilities to reason with evidence, interpret and revise ideas, and encourage respect for other viewpoints.”
The workshops were made possible through collaboration among Arts in Health, the internal medicine humanities curriculum at Bassett Medical Center, and Fenimore Art Museum’s Education department. Falco worked with Laura Wetzel, a docent at Fenimore Museum, to spearhead the initiative. They partnered with Kevin Gray, manager of arts education at Fenimore, and Michelle Nowlan and Dr. James Dalton, co-directors of the internal medicine humanities curriculum at Bassett, to facilitate the sessions.