Experimenting with the Art of Observation

ABSTRACT

This case study of an art education program for medical students examines the efficacy of different types of content and modes of delivery. Through the delivery of art analysis, art history, sculpting, and life drawing seminars, art educators were able to teach empathy, observation, and flexible thinking to first-year medical students. This interdisciplinary approach to museum education can be used across many contexts to complement existing curricula.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical education
• art history
• interdisciplinarity
• life drawing
• sculpting

Acknowledgements

This research project was truly a team effort. The authors would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Queen’s University Art and Medicine Working Group: Nancy Dalgarno, Heather Braund, Hassan Hazari, Eleni Katsoulas, and Max Montalvo. Art historians, Hannah Darvin and Norah Peterson assisted with the evaluation of the art assessments. Artist Daniel Hughes instructed life drawing. The authors are so appreciative of their contributions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Mukunda, “Visual Art Instruction in Medical Education,” 1558657; Dolev, Friedlaender, and Braverman, “Use of Fine Art to Enhance Visual Diagnostic Skills.”; Reilly, Ring, and Duke, “Visual Thinking Strategies,”; Naghshineh et al., “Formal Art Observation Training Improves Medical Students’ Visual Diagnostic Skills”; Wellbery and McAteer, “The Art of Observation: A Pedagogical Framework”; Zimmerman, Huang, and Buzney, “Refining the Eye: Dermatology and Visual Literacy”; Gooding et al., “Fostering Humanism in Medicine Through Art and Reflection”; Pitman, “The Art of Examination: Medical School and Art Museum Partnerships”; Adimora Godley et al., “Toward an Anti-Racist Curriculum: Incorporating Art Into Medical Education to Improve Empathy and Structural Competency”; Mitzova-Vladinov and Torrents, “Do You See What I See”; Zeidan et al. “Targeting Implicit Bias in Medicine: Lessons from Art and Archaeology”.

2 Ibid.; Ainsworth, Parin, and Tytler, “Drawing to Learn in Science,” 1096–1097; Gurwin et al., “A Randomized Controlled Study,” 8–14; Reilly, Ring, and Duke, “Visual Thinking Strategies,” 250–251; Siegel, “More Than Words,” 455–475.

3 Willson and Jaye, “Arts-Based Learning,” 642–643.

4 Zazulak et al., “The Art of Medicine,” 192–198.

5 Miller et al., “From the Galleries to the Clinic,” 436–438.

6 Shuh, Teaching Yourself to Teach with Objects, 80–92; Yenawine, Visual Thinking Strategies; Hailey, “Visual Thinking, Art, and University Teaching Across Disciplines”.

7 Dolev, Friedlaender, and Braverman, “Use of Fine Art to Enhance Visual Diagnostic Skills”; Reilly, Jeffrey and Duke, “Visual Thinking Strategies,” 250–251; Naghshineh et al., “Formal Art Observation Training Improves Medical Students’ Visual Diagnostic Skills”; Zimmerman, Huang, and Buzney, “Refining the Eye: Dermatology and Visual Literacy”; Miller et al., “From the Galleries to the Clinic”.

8 Ainsworth, Parin, and Tytler, “Drawing to Learn in Science,” 1096–1097.

9 Ibid.; Phillips, “Running a Life Drawing Class,” 1020–1025.

10 Gooding et al., “Fostering Humanism in Medicine,” 123–124.

11 Siegel, “More Than Words,” 455–475.

12 Courneya, “Illustrating the Art of (Teaching) Medicine,” 3; Siegel “More Than Words,” 455–475.

13 “Artful Thinking.” Project Zero, http://pzartfulthinking.org/.

14 Gurwin et al., “A Randomized Controlled Study,” 8–14.

15 Zimmermann, Huang, and Buzney, “Refining the Eye,” 118–119.

16 Ganske, Khoshbin and Katz, “Teaching Healthcare Professionals to See,” 130–133.

17 Mukunda, “Visual Art Instruction in Medical Education,” 1558657.

18 Wald et al., “Fostering and Evaluating Reflective Capacity in Medical Education,” 41–50.

19 Swami and Shaw, “It Stops Your Brain,” 60–81.

20 Ibid.

21 Düring, Didi-Huberman, and Poggesi. Encyclopaedia Anatomica; Schnalke, Diseases in Wax; Neal, “The Art of Plastic Surgery,” 2072–2073. Sepehripour and Patel, “Art, Artistry, and Plastic Surgery,” 638e–640e.

22 Orr et al., “The Fostering Resilience,” 361–369; Cotter and Pawelski, “Art Museums as Institutions for Human Flourishing,” 1–15.

23 Programs, such as the Museum Prescription Program in Montreal also suggest there are a variety of benefits for patients engaging with art. See Mercer, “Primary Care Providers Exploring Value of ‘Social Prescriptions’ for Patients.”

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes on contributors

Heather Parker

Heather Parker was Associate Curator at Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. At Agnes, she spearheaded transdisciplinary learning programs, inviting students to engage with art and history in new ways. She holds a PhD in History from the University of Guelph.

Shannon Brown

Shannon Brown is an Artist, Arts Educator, Event Facilitator, and Producer with a BFA in studio art from Concordia University, a BEd from Queen’s University. She is the Program Coordinator at Agnes Etherington Art Centre where she manages public engagement, including speakers, art and wellness, school, and studio programming.

Allison Morehead

Allison Morehead is Associate Professor of Art History and Cultural Studies at Queen’s University, Katarokwi/Kingston, Canada. Morehead specializes in modern art, critical theory, in particular feminist and critical race theory, the critical medical humanities, and the history of collecting and museums.

Madeleine Dempster

Madeleine Dempster is a PhD student in Art History at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. Her doctoral research focuses on the eighteenth-century art market in France, the socio-political contexts of paintings, and how collections are created. Dempster's other research investigates art education and how art functions in society, both past and present.

Natalie Wagner

Natalie Wagner is an Education Scientist in Health Sciences at Queen’s University. Wagner completed her PhD in cognitive psychology at McMaster University. As an Education Developer, Wagner’s work revolves around curricular design, assessment, best practices, and program evaluation across the Faculty of Health Sciences. Twitter: @NatalieKWagner

Rachel Curtis

Rachel Curtis is a 5th-year ophthalmology resident at Queen’s University. She has held the position of Co-Chair of the Queen’s Resident Medical Education Committee (QRMEC) as well as ophthalmology resident Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) lead. Curtis is engaged in a variety of projects related to medical education innovation and research.

Christine Law

Christine Law is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. Law specializes in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Canada. Her research interests include novel approaches to medical education and machine learning of cataract surgery.