The art of seeing: The impact of a visual arts course on medical student wellbeing

Abstract

Purpose

Medical student burnout is becoming increasingly common. The Art of Seeing is a visual arts elective at one US medical school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of this course on attributes that are foundational to wellbeing: mindfulness, self-awareness, and stress.

Methods

A total of 40 students participated in this study from 2019 through 2021. Fifteen students participated in the pre-pandemic, in-person course, and 25 students participated in the post-pandemic, virtual course. Pre and post-tests included open-ended responses to works of art, which were coded for themes, and standardized scales: mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS), situational self-awareness scale (SSAS), and perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ).

Results

The students had statistically significant improvements on the MAAS (p < .01), the SSAS (p < .01), and the PSQ (p = 0.046). Improvements in the MAAS and the SSAS did not depend on class format. Students also demonstrated increased focus on the present moment, emotional awareness, and creative expression in the post test free responses.

Conclusions

This course significantly improved mindfulness, self-awareness, and stress levels in medical students, and can be used to help enhance wellbeing and mitigate burnout in this population, both in-person and virtually.

Keywords:

• Wellbeing
• visual arts education
• medical humanities
• medical education
• mindfulness

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the use of its premises for the Art of Seeing course, as well as NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Office of Student Affairs and Master Scholars Program in Humanistic Medicine. The authors also wish to thank Nikola Koscica for de-identifying all students who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Ariella R. Noorily

Ariella R. Noorily, MD, is a diagnostic radiology resident at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Anne Willieme

Anne Willieme, MFA, is an expert art educator and the founder and director of ArtMed inSight, Cambridge, MA.

Mikaela Belsky

Mikaela Belsky, MPhil, is a third-year medical student at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Katie Grogan

Katie Grogan, DMH, MA, was formerly assistant director of the Master Scholars Program in Humanistic Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine and is currently Senior Education Manager of the Center to Advance Palliative Care at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health, New York, NY.