The Pulse of Art
Course Overview
The Pulse of Art: Connections Between the History of Art and the History of Medicine is a semester-long, interdisciplinary course that harnesses the power of significant works of art to increase the observational skills and empathic responses of medical students, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.
The course is organized into thematic topics in which both the art and medical historic contexts are explored so that students gain an awareness and understanding of the trajectory of medical understanding and discovery. Because the classes actively engage the students in discussion, teamwork, and activities, the class size is limited. Most classes center on the detailed observation of carefully-selected art images that serve as a springboard for introducing 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 in exploring original works of art in the museum’s iconic building, an architectural landmark. In addition, a series of distinguished guest speakers lecture on a variety of topics at the intersection of art and medicine.
Program Goals
Increase observational skills by focusing on works of art that offer rich visual information related to the history and practice of medicine.
Improve students’ descriptive skills through their oral presentation of the formal, narrative, and emotional elements of the art works.
Enhance student empathy by examining the experience of illness expressed through the powerful and personal vision of artists.
Relate art to the cultural, scientific, and medical context of the age in which it was produced, providing an awareness of the sweep of medical history.
Respectfully acknowledge and appreciate other students’ different interpretations and readings of a single work of art.
Provide an opportunity to work in teams while exploring art and medical history, much as physicians blend their individual perceptions as part of health-care teams.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
Practice active looking and communication by examining both original works of art and reproductions.
Engage in exercises to enhance observational and communication skills and translate these into analogous activities in physical diagnosis and effective patient communication.
Reflect on the privileges and responsibilities of the physician and other health-care professionals through discussion of ethical and humanistic questions.
Increase their respect for the different opinions expressed by their colleagues.
Gain a framework for understanding the broad outlines of medical history in order to better appreciate the current state of medical knowledge.
Course Structure
Each class is 1.5 hours and most are co-taught by the leaders, an art historian/curator and a physician-scientist, in a conference room at the medical school. The size of the class is limited to 20 students. Each session is designed around significant works of art selected to focus on key topics relevant for students and practicing physicians. In addition to careful observation, the students engage in activities to enhance oral communication and evidence-based opinions. At the conclusion of each session, the students discuss a major social or ethical question related to the topic that was developed during the session. 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 individual patients. In particular, they discuss the importance of resisting the demands of the state when they conflict with the physician’s oath.
Because 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.
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 professionals.
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 the librarian and curatorial staff of the library. They select examples of treasured historic books from the sixteenth century to the present, chosen to correspond with the medical topics discussed during the semester. The books are landmarks in the history of medical knowledge as well as works of art in their own right, featuring illustrations of the highest artistic quality and beautifully-crafted bindings.
Guest Speakers
Depending on their availability, several sessions are led by distinguished guest speakers who have creatively pursued careers merging art and medicine. Please see the Faculty page on the website menu for information on previous speakers.
The Pulse of Art Research Projects
Ongoing Study to Assess the Impact of The Pulse of Art on Student Observation and Empathy.
A former student, Gabriel Slamovits, is currently working with the Pulse of Art leaders in an IRB-approved study to evaluate the impact of the course on its students. Gabriel noted, “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 as judged by the students’ analysis of images before and after the course. A preliminary 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 a Mount Sinai Medical Student Research Day.”
Ongoing Study to Assess the Long-Term Impact of the Pulse of Art on its Students.
Gabriel Slamovits and the course leaders have also launched an IRB-approved study to assess the long-term impact of the course on students’ perception of art and medicine.
The Pulse of Art is offered through the Academy for Medicine and the Humanities of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The Academy is an umbrella organization that oversees and manages arts and humanities activities and offers courses, mentoring, and research opportunities.
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.
Related Exhibitions
The Pulse of Art Related Museum Exhibitions
Alice Neel: People Come First
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 2021
Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis
Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with the New York Academy of Medicine and Wellcome,
2018-2019
States of Health: Visualizing Illness and Healing
Princeton University Art Museum, 2019-2020
Spit Spreads Death: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in Philadelphia
Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2019