The Use of Visual Arts as a Window to Diagnosing Medical Pathologies

Observation is a key step preceding diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment. Careful patient observation is a skill that is learned but rarely explicitly taught. Furthermore, proper clinical observation requires more than a glance; it requires attention to detail. In medical school, the art of lea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAMA journal of ethics Vol. 18; no. 8; p. 843
Main Author Bramstedt, Katrina A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.08.2016
Subjects
Clinical Competence
Curriculum
Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods
Humans
Learning
Physical Examination
Teaching
Thinking
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Summary:Observation is a key step preceding diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment. Careful patient observation is a skill that is learned but rarely explicitly taught. Furthermore, proper clinical observation requires more than a glance; it requires attention to detail. In medical school, the art of learning to look can be taught using the medical humanities and especially visual arts such as paintings and film. Research shows that such training improves not only observation skills but also teamwork, listening skills, and reflective and analytical thinking. Overall, the use of visual arts in medical school curricula can build visual literacy: the capacity to identify and analyze facial features, emotions, and general bodily presentations, including contextual features such as clothing, hair, and body art. With the ability to formulate and convey a detailed "picture" of the patient, clinicians can integrate aesthetic and clinical knowledge, helping facilitate the diagnosing of medical pathologies.
ISSN:2376-6980
DOI:10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.8.imhl1-1608