Arts in Medical Education

observation, judgment and interpretation

Abstract

Art has been used as a medical teaching strategy since the 1970s, mainly in universities in Europe and North America. This article is the report of a teaching experience idealized by the author in a Medical teaching institution in Minas Gerais. Artworks carefully chosen for the occasion, were used on two different classes, to students and teachers of the Medicine school at the aforementioned institution. The experience reported was built around the iconic work of the Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669), Dr. Tulp's Anatomy Lesson, contrasted with the photograph of the anatomical demonstration carried out in London, in 2002, by the German doctor and anatomist Gunther von Hagens. The two images were projected and discussed with the public, hoping that different levels of interpretation would emerge, anchored in the cultural/intellectual background of that specific group, but also in subjective and individual perceptions, which occur at unconscious levels. In addition to demonstrating that artistic knowledge does not contradict scientific knowledge, we hoped to raise awareness among the participating public, made up mostly of future doctors, of the need to refine our listening and our vision, impoverished by a clinic based on the superficiality of the symptom.