LAUSR

For many physicians in training, the third year of medical school is often the most intimidating as students transition from the classroom to the hospital wards. In addition to protracted work hours and continuous preparation for the multitude of standardized examinations, students are expected to formulate clinical diagnoses and treatment plans for real patients with real diseases. No longer are signs and symptoms directly associated with buzzwords and multiple-choice answers. No longer can students “flag” a problem for later review. And no longer is a wrong answer met with just a lower score. The experience is one of simultaneous enlightenment and drudgery with the students’ understanding that excellence in patient care requires steadfast dedication and a predictably unpredictable sacrifice of time. The “MS3s,” as they identify themselves in the hospital, work their way through each day under constant evaluation by residents and attending physicians in addition to navigating an ever-changing electronic medical record and routinely questioning whether they are included in the “Authorized Personnel Only” doorway signs. After each 12-hour dose of clinical responsibilities, they head home to prepare for questions they may be asked in the operating room the next morning, check laboratory values and patient status changes overnight, and study for the “Shelf Exams”—yet another means of evaluation meant to differentiate the MS3s from their peers. Through this rigor, it is understandable how some may lose track of the inherent goal of their third year of medical education—to learn how to take care of people in need—and focus on their proven ability to take written and oral examinations in an effort to excel in their clerkships. How, then, can institutions help medical students set this burden of continuous evaluation aside and refocus education on the patient and the aptly named “art of medicine”—the true reason they are here? While most training programs aim to address this concern through focused didactics, guest speakers with expertise in medical education, and hands-on clinical experiences, the medical students at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine are also afforded a unique opportunity to explore this subject through the lens of fine art. The experience is timed to coincide with the students’ pediatrics clerkship and was created by Dr Joel Schwab, Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatrics Residency Mentor at the University of Chicago, and continued by Dr Joseph R. Hageman, Senior Clinician Educator at the University. Each month, Dr Hageman brings a cohort of students to the Smart Museum of Art, a gallery located on the University’s campus just blocks from the medical training center, where museum educators and docents lead the students through a series of activities titled “Me,” “You and I,” and “We.” Each activity is geared toward teaching the clerkship students a distinct set of fundamental skills needed to become an effective physician. Jacqueline Finley, Coordinator of Guest Services and Program Experiences at the Smart Museum, describes the first activity, “Me”: