If you could live in the past, what time period would you choose?
Apprenticeship and mentorship in medicine
I’ve always thought living in the time of apprenticeships would be cool. Select a trade, learn from a master, dedicate years to honing your skills, and eventually join a guild to become a true expert in your craft.
I used to believe that apprenticeships were a thing of the past until I began working on my latest painting, Fill Me Up. This artwork was displayed at the in-person Art Gallery during the 2024 Gold Foundation Humanism Conference I attended in Atlanta.
The image depicts a common scene during medical training. Knowledge, shown as fluid, passes from attending physician to resident to intern. Note the calm expression on the upper figures. They know that the age-old method of apprenticeship persists in medical training. The art of medicine is learned through observation and experience, not book learning and exams. The fluid flows smoothly until it overflows at the lowest figure, the intern. At first, she cannot capture everything. But, with years of apprenticeship, she will hold onto all the knowledge she needs to practice medicine.
There’s no greater feeling than knowing your artwork has resonated with someone. So, I was genuinely flattered to hear that my painting was purchased by Dr. Robert Cain, President and CEO of the AACOM (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine). He sent me this heart-warming message:
I was attracted to it because of the theme it tries to capture. It may not be what you intended, but apprenticeship and CBME (competency based medical education) must exist side-by-side for balance to exist in medical education. I have concerns that we can lose sight of the value of apprenticeship while trying to make the system, ‘scientifically perfect’ through CBME. Obviously, we want safe, effective care for all—but too much structure may actually cause us to lose perspective and overlook the value of the transfer that occurs between mentor and learner through exposure to those things that are immeasurable (the art).
Yes, this was totally what I was trying to say, but said much more eloquently:) I do think that apprenticeship still exists today, especially in medicine.
Here’s the link to the rest of the Art Gallery.
The process
Many people often ask me how I come up with my paintings. I love reading about other artists’ work and creative processes, so I thought I’d share mine. I enjoy the whole journey of creating art just as much as the finished piece. I previously wrote about my painting process for another painting, My Life as an ER Physician During Covid. Take a read: How to develop a Painting from Initial Idea to Finished Piece
Here, I’ll talk a little about my process behind Fill Me Up.
Step 1: Think about the prompt and come up with the title
I usually start with the title; it helps me hone in on what I am trying to say with a particular piece. I don’t like when art pieces are titled, “Untitled 1” and “Untitled 2.” For this art show, the prompt was ‘Mentorship.’ So, I searched through Pinterest and found beautiful images of water jugs and water flowing.
Step 2: Reference
I knew that I wanted to depict faces with closed eyes. When people look at art, they tend to focus on the eyes, so I found several references with faces looking down at different angles and closed eyes.
Step 3: The ugly phase
Every painting has an ugly stage; it’s when you have gone from the initial idea to working out the problems. Here are my charcoal sketch and then the initial painting. You may notice that I turned the head to the side. I usually work out all the kinks on my sketch but here, I was excited to paint so probably jinxed myself and went too fast.
Step 4: Description
Some artists don’t feel they need to write descriptions for their pieces. I feel the opposite—I always like to read about what the artist meant by a specific piece. I think the context of a painting is important.
Step 5: Finished piece!
And on a practical note…….
For those of you who are local to Charlotte, join us next week. I’m on a panel for the Humanities in Medicine.
What is Human-Centered Healthcare?
Charlotte physicians and a non-profit executive explore the medical humanities and the arts as therapeutic interventions. What role do the arts and humanities play in medical education? How do the humanities help caregivers be better observers and interpreters? How do the arts help providers and patients with social and emotional learning components? Join in on the conversation!
Here’s the link to the event:
https://www.thecharlottecenter.org/upcoming-events/healthcare
Thanks for reading this far. I hope that you enjoyed this post. Hope to see you next month. Stay well!