icahnschoolofmedicine& … school of... ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Icahn School of Medicine
The Pulse of Art: Course Overview
Course Description The Pulse of Art: Connections Between the History of Art and the
History of Medicine is a unique, full-‐semester course that harnesses the power of significant works of art to increase the observation skills and empathic responses of medical students, physicians, and health-‐care providers. By organizing the course into thematic topics ranging from plague and ebola to portraiture and prosopagnosia, and recognizing historic contexts for the art and science discussed, students also gain an awareness and understanding of the trajectory of medical understanding and discovery. Because the classes engage the students in discussion and activities, they are limited in size to encourage verbalization, discussion, active participation, and teamwork. Most classes center on the observation of carefully-‐selected images of art which serve as a springboard for important medical topics. Two classes are held in the galleries of our partner institution, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, where students are guided by education experts to explore original works of art in an iconic, architectural landmark.
Program Goals
1. Increase observation skills by focusing on works of art that offer rich visual information.
2. Improve descriptive skills through verbalization of the formal, narrative and emotional elements of the art viewed.
3. Enhance empathy by examining the experience of illness and range of human conditions as expressed through the powerful and personal vision of artists.
4. Relate art to the cultural, scientific, and medical context of the age in which it was produced providing an awareness of the change in medical knowledge and therapies over time.
5. Experience the possibility of various interpretations and several equally valid readings of a single work of art.
6. Provide an opportunity to hear individual perceptions and to work in teams in order to gain insight into the meaning of a work of art and respect for different opinions. A process that is similar to the way physicians must use individual perception and then work as a team to gain insight into the totality of a patient’s care.
Learning Outcomes Students will: 1. Practice active looking and communication by examining both original works
of art and reproductions. 2. Engage in exercises to enhance observation and communication skills and
translate these into everyday situations such as physical diagnosis and effective patient communication.
3. Reflect on the privileges and responsibilities of the physician through discussion of ethical and humanistic questions.
4. Increase their respect of the differences among colleagues and among the people who need medical attention.
5. Gain a framework for the sweep of medical history to better appreciate the current state of medical knowledge.
Course Structure Each class is an hour and a half and most are co-‐taught by the leaders, an art historian/curator and a physician, in a conference room at the medical school. The size of the class is limited to 20 students. Each session is designed around significant global works of art selected to focus on a key topics relevant for students and practicing physicians. In addition to careful observation, the students engage in activities to enhance verbalization and evidence-‐based opinions. At the conclusion of each session, the students consider a question related to the topic. The questions do not require prior reading but are intended to encourage thought about a social, ethical or health issue. For example, after the session centered on Thomas Eakin’s iconic painting, The Gross Clinic, in which the surgeon, Dr. Samuel Gross is depicted heroically performing surgery to save the limb of a young boy, the students are asked “Who are today’s medical heroes?” After the session devoted to epidemics and communicable diseases, the students discuss the tension physicians feel when confronted with the need to protect the health of a population while remaining an advocate for their patient The importance of resisting the demands of the state when they conflict with the physician’s oath is emphasized. (See the attached syllabus from 2015). Museum Component In addition to the seminar classes, there are two interactive, guided visits to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum led by professional museum educators to view the masterpieces in the permanent collection and works in temporary exhibitions. The Sackler Center for Arts Education at the museum encourages participatory encounters with the museum’s collection and exhibitions. It uses effective inquiry-‐based methods that engage multiple perspectives and enable personally meaningful experiences with modern and contemporary art. Each visit is pre-‐planned to emphasize works of art that will resonate with the concerns of health care providers.
Medical Rare Books The culmination of the semester is a visit to the Rare Book Room of the New York Academy of Medicine led by curatorial staff of the library to see treasured historic books from the sixteenth century to the present, selected to correspond with the medical topics discussed during the semester. The books are not only landmarks in the history of medical knowledge, but also, works of art in their own right, featuring illustrations of the highest artistic quality and beautiful bindings. Guest Speakers Depending on the availability of guest lecturers, several sessions are led guest speakers who have creatively pursued careers merging art and medicine. These have included Mr. Joe Lovett, Executive Producer and award-‐winning documentary filmmaker who screens his film “Going Blind” and discusses the inspiration for the film-‐-‐ his own fear of losing his eyesight after a diagnosis of glaucoma. The film follows five individuals who are either blind or have low vision, and provides an intimate view of how they adapt to and cope with their challenges. Afterward, the filmmaker answers questions from the students about his own medical story, the individuals depicted in the film, and the process of creating a documentary. A second admired guest has been Diane Brown, founder and Director of RxArt, a growing non-‐profit organization that engages renowned contemporary artists to dramatically transform spaces, and experiences, in pediatric hospitals with sited art. The session entitled “Skin Deep” engages the students in mixing paint to match their own skin shade, a process similar to that of the artist Byron Kim. Guest artist, Hope Grayson, consults on the color choices and then the students paint common dermatological conditions on their own skin shade. Since the course is an elective, there are no assigned readings; however, the leaders bring many important books on the history of medicine to each class for review, and relevant sources are recommended for voluntary reading on each topic. Student Evaluations The students are asked to fill out an evaluation after each session as well as a detailed, four-‐page evaluation with comments, after the completion of the course. (See attached example of a final evaluation form from 2012). Some of the enthusiastic responses include: “I loved the wide range of topics and time periods covered in the course. It was really fascinating and enlightening to hear the dual perspectives from the medical and art sides in relation to each work. I particularly enjoyed the museum and library visits and RxArt presentation.”
“I truly enjoyed the perspective of art historian and physician. Their dynamic was excellent and I appreciated the different points of view.” “I learned so much about art and the different ways people see art.” “I think it has changed the way I observe things and that will improve my future practice. I also have greater appreciation for the history of medicine, which will help me as a doctor. I think everyone in clinical care would benefit from the course.” “Every week we are exposed to something new and exciting!” “A unique, educational and exciting opportunity…” “Putting medicine in a larger socio-‐historical perspective is very humbling.” “[The course should be offered to] all faculty, students, trainees and if possible nursing staff and anyone interested. It can enrich everyone’s experience and lives.” “I liked the balance between art history and the history of medicine. Each class was also very unique and nothing was repetitive. I like how the classes divided up thematically. Also, getting to go to museums for private hours was a truly special experience.” “[I will be] more observant and more humane.” Ongoing Study to Assess the Impact of “The Pulse of Art” A former student, Gabriel Slamovits, is currently engaged in a scientific study to evaluate the impact of the course. He writes, “The process of creating and analyzing works of art has many parallels with scientific discovery and providing expert, compassionate care. A small, but significant body of recent literature indicates that medical students who engage in art-‐based experiences tend to improve both the nature of their observations and the quality of their descriptions… The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of the course on medical students’ observational skills and on medical student empathy. A preliminary close review of students’ written observations suggested qualitative differences in the same student’s observations such that they contained more empathic narrative elements. These findings were presented at Mount Sinai’s Medical Student Research Day in the Spring of 2014.”
Faculty
Dr. Barry Coller M.D. is Vice President for Medical Affairs at the Rockefeller University in New York as well as the David Rockefeller Professor of Medicine and Head of the Allen and Frances Adler Laboratory of Blood and Vascular Biology, and Physician-‐in-‐Chief of the Rockefeller University Hospital. From 1993-‐2001 he was the Murray M. Rosenberg Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Dr. Coller graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been passionate about medical and scientific education linked to outcome analyses to improve the quality of medical school training.
Bobbi Coller Ph. D. is an art historian, art educator, and independent curator. She received a B.S. in Education from New York University and her Ph.D. in Art History from the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is the co-‐creator of “The Pulse of Art” and is a Lecturer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was previously an Adjunct Professor of Art History at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Currently she serves as Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of The Pollock-‐Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, New York; Director of the O.Z. Gallery, New York; and as a member of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Education Committee. She has curated 30 exhibitions for museums and galleries.
Dr. Suzanne Garfinkle is the founding director of the Academy of Medicine and the Humanities at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is an Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Psychiatry, and maintains a clinical practice in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She received a BA in English from Amherst College and a MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalysis from University College London. Dr. Garfinkle did her undergraduate medical training as part of the Humanities and Medicine Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Sharon Vatsky is the Director of Education, School and Family Programs at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum where she oversees the planning and facilitation of programs and interpretive materials for students, teachers, and families. She has conducted workshops for teachers and museum educators in Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Spain, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico and many parts of the United States. Prior to joining the Guggenheim in 2000, she was Curator of Education at the Queens Museum of Art in New York. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in arts education, museum education, and visual arts.
Christina Yang is the Director of Education, Public Programs at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She works closely with her museum colleagues to design and oversee a schedule of multidisciplinary programs for adults that deepen intellectual engagement with the museum’s permanent collection, special exhibitions, architectural program, and other special projects. She is also adjunct lecturer in the MFA Program in New Media and Related Media at the School of Visual Arts and the MFA Program in New Media and Performance at Long Island University. She has held curatorial positions at the Queens Museum and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and worked as a writer/publicist at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has an MA from the Williams College Graduate Program in Art History and is in the Ph.D. program in Art History at the City University of New York.
Diane Brown is the founder and Executive Director of RxArt, a ten-‐year-‐old nonprofit organization devoted to placing the highest quality works of art in clinical and hospital settings, in particular pediatric hospitals. She has forged a professional path that draws equally from her professional beginnings as a Pre-‐Med student at the University of Wisconsin and from her career as a New York based gallerist, art dealer, and consultant. Brown has been active in the field of contemporary art since 1973; from 1976-‐1982 she owned and operated the Diane Brown Gallery in Washington, D.C. and New York City (1983-‐1992). These spaces played host to some of the most significant artists of the time and that, in turn, has set the standard for the artistic aims of RxArt, a belief in art’s ability to not only transcend but transform its settings and viewers. Brown also worked as a private dealer, a consultant to private collectors for collection development
and management, and as the curator of a corporate photography collection in New York City.
Hope Grayson is a painter focused on body language and patterns from the historic applied arts. Described as a figurative expressionist, she works on canvas, paper, metal and wood. Her paintings are in collections across the U.S., Canada and Europe. She is represented by Sandra Neustadter in New York and Delray Beach, Florida.
Joe Lovett is an Executive Producer and the founder and president of Lovett Stories and Strategies. He is an award-‐winning filmmaker whose films have informed, engaged, and inspired people into action. He produced the first in-‐depth AIDS investigations for national television at ABC News 20/20. In 2001 Joe won a Peabody Award and received an Emmy nomination for writing, producing, and directing HBO’s Cancer: Evolution to Revolution. This film launched a national conversation about coping, treating, and learning to live with the realities of cancer. His film, Going Blind, and its outreach campaign have ignited a global movement of individuals, grassroots organizations and medical professionals sponsoring screenings to raise awareness and improve access to vision enhancement services. In addition, he has directed and/or produced other medical educational films including Blood Detectives (produced for the American Society of Hematology) and Three Sisters Searching for a Cure, a film about ALS for HBO.
Arlene Shaner is the Historical Collections Librarian in the Rare Book Room of the New York Academy of Medicine Library, where she has been on the staff since January of 2001. She has a Masters degree in History from the University of Rochester and an MLS from Indiana University, Bloomington. She is active in a number of professional organizations, including the American Association for the History of Medicine and the Archivists and Historians in the History of Health Sciences.
Anne Garner is Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts in the library at the New York Academy of Medicine. Before her arrival at the Academy in 2015, she worked at the New York Public Library’s Berg Collection of English and American Literature, the Ehrman Medical Library, and the Getty Institute in Los Angeles. She has a background in Classics.
Gabriel Slamovits, Third year medical student, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. After participating in The Pulse of Art during his first year in medical school, he proposed designing a controlled study to measure the effect of the course on the students. He is gathering data from pre-‐course and post-‐course exercises in making observations about works of art. He presented his initial results at the Medical Student Research Day at Mount Sinai in 2014.
Schedule for The Pulse of Art
Connections Between the History of Art and the History of Medicine Fall 2015
Room 13-‐80 Annenberg
Mondays 5:30-‐7:00 Dr. Barry Coller, M.D. and Dr. Bobbi Coller, Ph.D.
Mon. October 5 – The Art of Observation: Active Looking in Medicine and Art
Mon. October 12 -‐ Images of Illness Mon. October 19 -‐ Special Visit to the Guggenheim Museum of Art led by the directors of the Education Department: Sharon Vatsky and Christina Yang Mon. October 26 -‐ Picturing Pandemic Disease: From Plague to Ebola Mon. November 2-‐ Skin Deep: Painting, Pattern, and Color with guest artist Hope Grayson Mon. November 9 -‐ Reading and Misreading Faces: Portraits and the Science of Face Recognition
Mon. November 16-‐ Guest speaker, Peabody-‐Award winning documentary filmmaker, Joe Lovett, will be screening and discussing his movie “Going Blind.” Mon. November 23 -‐ The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins: The Ascendancy of American Medicine in the Nineteenth Century
Mon. November 30 – Second Guided Visit to see the current exhibition at The Guggenheim Museum of Art with Sharon Vatsky and Christina Yang Mon. December 7 -‐ Guest Speaker: Diane Brown, founder and president of RxArt,
a nonprofit organization that places art in hospital settings Mon. December 14 -‐ Special visit to the Rare Book Room of the New York Academy
of Medicine and tour with curators Arlene Shaner and Anne Garner to view the historic books and treasures The Pulse of Art is offered through the Academy for Medicine and the Humanities of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Academy is an umbrella organization that oversees and manages arts and humanities activities and offers courses, mentoring, and research opportunities.
The Pulse of Art -‐-‐ Fall 2012 Course Evaluation
Thank you for taking the time to fill out this evaluation. Your responses are very important for the future planning of this course.
1. What did you like about this course? 2. What would you change? 3. With a scoring system of 1-‐5, with 5 being the best, how would you rate each of the sessions you attended? a. The Art of Observation: Active Looking in Medicine and Art 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend b. Images of Illness 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend c. Guided visit to the Guggenheim Museum of Art (Rineke Dijkstra) 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend d. Reading and Misreading Faces: Portraits and Face Recognition 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend e. Guest lecture by Diane Brown of RxArt 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend f. Picturing Pandemic Disease 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend g. Skin Deep: Dermatology, Pattern and Color 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend h. Visit to see the collection of medical medals led by Dr.Ira Rezak 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend
j. Guest lecture by Dr. Vincent de Luise, Ophthalmology and Art 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend k. The Gross Clinic: The Ascendancy of American Medicine in the Nineteenth Century 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend l. Visit to the New York Academy of Medicine Rare Books and Treasures 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend m. Guided visit to the Guggenheim Museum : Picasso in Black and White 1 2 3 4 5 did not attend 4. With a scoring system of 1-‐5, how would you rate the success of the course in achieving each of the following goals? a. Encourage careful observation 1 2 3 4 5 b. Provide an understanding of some of the key milestones in medical history 1 2 3 4 5 c. Encourage awareness of, and sensitivity to, the impact of illness on patients and their families 1 2 3 4 5 5. Do you think this course will have an impact on how you view your role as a physician?
6. Do you think it will have an impact on how you practice medicine? 7. Do you think it will have an impact on your career path within medicine? 8. Do you think you will approach works of art differently as a result of this course? 9. Do you think this course should be offered as an elective or a requirement? Why? 10. To whom in the medical center do you think this course should be offered? 12. Would you recommend this class to other students? 13. How many classes would be optimal? 14. Was anything in the course memorable? 15. Is there anything else you would like to add?