Art & Medicine: Using Visual Literacy to Improve Diagnostic Skills
TITLE: Art & Medicine: Using Visual Literacy to Improve Diagnostic Skills
COURSE NO.: SOMN 739
DEPARTMENT: Department of Medical Education
DURATION: Eighteen hours (18) during the Fall and Spring Semester scheduled so as not to interfere with the students鈥� required curriculum.
ACADEMIC DIRECTOR: Donna Woodson, MD, FAAFP (donna.woodson@utoledo.edu); Carlos Baptista, MD, PhD (carlos.baptista@utoledo.edu)
ELECTIVE COORDINATOR: Jamie Daughton (jamie.daughton@utoledo.edu)
FACULTY PARTICIPANTS:
The following individuals have been recurring faculty for this elective:
Amira Gohara, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology, Dean Emerita, UTCOMLS
Christopher Lynn, MD, specialist responsible for M1 education of history and physical exam, Internal Medicine Department of Medicine, UTCOMLS
James Ravin, MD, Local practicing ophthalmologist, coauthor of the book, 鈥淭he Artist鈥檚 Eyes鈥�, published in London, author for JAMA and guest on national TV broadcasts and lecturer at Johns Hopkins. Member of UTCOMLS Community Faculty.
Carlos Baptista, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medical Education, Past President of the International Plastination Society and currently Director of the Museum/Laboratory of Plastination on the Health Science Campus of UTCOMLS. His series of plastinated brain sections were on loan to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago as part of the highly acclaimed exhibit, Imaging: The Tools of Science, and exhibited specimens in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Donna Woodson, MD, FAAFP, Professor Emerita in the Department of Medical Education, 听Academic Course Director for Art and Medicine and an avid proponent and researcher of Visual Literacy as a valuable tool in medical education.
Instructor Docents at the Toledo Museum of Art:听听听听 Louise Lowenstein & Colleen Barron
The Course Directors (Drs Baptista and Woodson) would like to express their sincere appreciation for the opportunity to have these extraordinary docents with us and our students for the 听sixth straight year. The Toledo Museum of Art has been an outstanding collaborator in medical education.
SEMESTERS AVAILABLE: Spring for M1s and Fall for M2s
NUMBER OF STUDENTS: Minimum of 5 and Maximum of 20 per semester in good standing with no pending deficiencies.
LOCATIONS: UTCOMLS (Health Science Campus) and Toledo Museum of Art (TMA)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
Visual literacy techniques have been shown to enhance inspection and communication
skills, increase empathy and tolerance of ambiguity, and lead to an improved ability
to reason clinically from careful and unbiased observation.
Our students will learn through art observation exercises pairing art museum docent educators with medical school faculty and experienced lecturers and authors. Our Elective Co-Directors ( Drs. Woodson and Baptista)have reviewed, attended, and approved all the lectures and exercises which will be given during this preclinical elective. This is a very interactive course for the students and faculty, both at the TMA and on the Health Science Campus. Since initial approval for this Preclinical Elective by the ECC in 2017 we have been fortunate to have the same two dedicated docents at the Toledo Museum of Art work with our medical students. Their mutual respect for each other and our students is evident. They even presented a session at the Smithsonian Institution about our Art and Medicine Elective.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
- Demonstrate the ability to use careful and unbiased observations to improve powers of inspection of patients with a broad range of disorders. (EPOs:PC-1)
- Demonstrate skills for exemplary diagnostic acumen in the clinical setting. (EPOs:PC-6)
- Demonstrate skills necessary for applying observation skills to the care of patients. (EPOs:PC-1)
- Explain the importance of Visual Literacy, as taught by specially trained art instructors in developing physical examination skills, especially inspection. (EPOs:PC-1)
- Communicate effectively about patient鈥檚 clinical state by individual and team discussions of what they have learned by careful observations of art and patients (EPOs:IPC-1).
METHODS OF TEACHING:
- Experiential exploration of predetermined works of art at the TMA will be used as well as Training in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) by art educators at the Toledo Museum of Art
- Small Group Discussion following art gallery tours
- Several lectures given at UTCOM with discussions following, or in the Museum Galleries
- Specific docent-led discussions of topics relevant to observational skills will also be used in the galleries
- The sessions given on the Health Science Campus are interactive and have been reviewed and approved by the Course Directors who will be present at all sessions in both locations.
METHODS OF STUDENT EVALUATION:
- Attendance is required at the two 3-hour Gallery sessions
- No more than two regular sessions of the regular classroom lectures or exercises can be missed without pre-approval of one of the Course Directors
- Successful completion of a course evaluation and during the final briefing
- Reflection Paper: At the end of the course a Reflection Paper of approximately two typewritten, double-spaced pages will be required
- Individual Presentations/Exercises: Individual Presentations/ Exercises to be done during class: Each student will be asked to give a 5-minute discussion of a favorite work of 鈥渁rt鈥� using new descriptive techniques .
ELECTIVE EVALUATION: Students will be given the opportunity to evaluate their experience and make recommendations to the academic director and teaching faculty.
PREREQUISITES: First or second-year medical student in good academic standing.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Institutional Classroom Attendance Policy
Please be aware that the university has implemented an attendance policy, which requires
faculty to verify student participation in every class a student is registered at
the start of each new semester/course. If you have not attended/participated in class
(completed any course activities or assignments) within this period, I am required
by federal law to report you as having not attended class. This date varies by the
part of term, in which your course started, these dates can be found here: . Unfortunately, not attending/participating in class impacts your eligibility to
receive financial aid, so it is VERY important that you attend class and complete
course work early. Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss options and/or
possible accommodations if you have any difficulty completing assignments.
Policy Statement on Non鈥怐iscrimination on the Basis of Disability (ADA)
The University is an equal opportunity educational institution. Please read 听 Students can find this policy along with other university policies listed by audience
on the .
Academic Accommodations
The University of Toledo embraces the inclusion of students with disabilities. We
are committed to ensuring equal opportunity and seamless access for full participation
in all courses. For students who have an Accommodations Memo from the Office of Accessibility
and Disability Resources, I invite you to correspond with me as soon as possible so
that we can communicate confidentially about implementing accommodations in this course.
For students who have not established accommodations with the Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources and are experiencing disability access barriers or are interested in a referral to health care resources for a potential disability, please connect with the office by calling 419.530.4981 or sending an email to StudentDisability@utoledo.edu.
Religious Accommodations
A student is permitted to be absent, without penalty, for up to three days each academic semester to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system or
to participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious
denomination church, or other religious or spiritual organization.听 3364-71-30 Religious accommodations policy and 3364-71-30.01 Religious accommodations procedure.
Grievance procedure: A student may notify the institution of any grievance regarding the policy鈥檚 implementation using the听 3364-71-05.1 Academic grievance procedure.
ACADEMIC AND SUPPORT SERVICES听
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INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM STATEMENT
In this class, we will work together to develop a learning community that is inclusive
and respectful. Our diversity may be reflected by differences in race, culture, age,
religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, socioeconomic background,
and a myriad of other social identities and life experiences. We will encourage and
appreciate expressions of different ideas, opinions, and beliefs so that conversations
and interactions that could potentially be divisive turn, instead, into opportunities
for intellectual and personal development.
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ECC Approved
July 2024