Enhancing modern medical humanism by exploring the historical intersection of art and medicine

This session, led by Bobbi Coller, PhD, and Barry S. Coller, MD, will focus on how the emotional power of carefully curated works of art is being incorporated into medical education to enhance students’ observational skills, empathy, and medical humanism. Interpreting and discussing the art serves as a springboard for discussing important current medical and bioethical issues, including considering the patient’s illnesses in the context of their social determinants of health and their family relationships. The presentation is drawn from one of seven sessions they co-teach in an elective course at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai entitled “The Pulse of Art” (ThePulseofArt.org) that integrates art and medical history. Examining the experience of illness and medical practice through the vision of artists, and relating the art to the cultural, scientific, and medical context of the time in which it was produced, helps forge a foundation for the bioethical and humanistic practice of medicine today.