At Mount Sinai School of Medicine art-appreciation is a required course for third-year students. The class not only gives students a Leonardo-esque appreciation for the human form, but also increases their ability to view the entire scope of a patient.
A 2001 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that medical students who study painting and sculpture have improved observational abilities. Dr. David Muller, Mount Sinai's chairman of medical education, calls this the "art of looking." "To make a better doctor means to me - and I can't speak for everyone - one who sees the person and not just the patient," he told the New York Times, "not just an organ system that is screwed up."
Interests: Anything with an ING:
dancing, biking, listening, talking, writing, reading,
watching, eating, drinking, running, thinking, working, dreaming,
surrendering, laughing, smiling, acting, traveling, singing, surfing,
driving, shopping, thanking, observing, welcoming, connecting,
loving, learning, sharing, practicing, asking.
Inspiration: Books: Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke/
Music: Linkin Park and The Cure/
People: My mother and all of those that have come before me that have fought their
own battles and didn't give up/
Places: Carl Schurz Park, New York, NY/
Movies: In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Stealing Beauty, Beautiful Girls, When A Man Loves a Woman, In America, Magdelene Sisters, The Notebook, Run Fat Boy Run/
Things: Causes worth fighting for: Lupus and other auto-immune disorders, Organ Donation and impoverished and at-risk youth.