Sophie Fitzsimmons
This ‘conversation’ event brought up fascinating points that
really made me think differently about my medical education and practice.
The first speaker, Dr Gianna Bouchard, an academic who
lectures on drama, gave a brief overview of the history of anatomy
(specifically dissection) as performance – from the ‘anatomy theatres’ of the
Enlightenment to the modern-day spectacles of Gunther Von Hagens. This talk brought
me back to my time in the dissection room at the start of medical school – how privileged
and excited I felt not only to be carrying on a medical tradition hundreds of
years old, but to be allowed to explore this body which had been given for the
purpose of my education.
The second speaker, Prof Roger Kneebone, a surgeon, brought
up two themes that really captured my interest – firstly, the concept of
surgery as a carefully choreographed dance or show, with the patient as both
participant and audience (a concept that could indeed be expanded to the whole
of medicine); and secondly, of the importance in medicine and surgery of
learning through experience. No real body will ever be as perfect and tidy as
the glossy images in our textbooks; the cadavers we encounter during dissection
(though imperfect, messy and ‘real’) are not the same as a warm, breathing,
living person. The practice of medicine is impossible to communicate fully
through words and images – the real learning we do through our hands and the
co-operation of our patients.
The final speaker, Brian Lobel, a performer and writer
inspired by his experiences as a cancer patient, gave an account of his
experiences and feelings while going through various medical investigations. It
was eye-opening to hear about a patient’s changing view of their body in
illness as well as their feelings of passivity while in the hands of the
doctors – a viewpoint that is vital for doctors to understand (but one that is
sadly rarely discussed) and one I am keen to explore further.
These absorbing talks brought up many more issues than can
fit into one blog post! I’ll just finish by saying I am very much enjoying
thinking about medicine and the body from these new angles, and I’m looking
forward to continuing this alternative exploration of anatomy during the main
event (An Anatomie In Four Quarters) this weekend.
Kitty Hardman:
Last night’s conversation between Dr Gianna
Bouchard (principle lecturer in drama at Anglia Ruskin University), Brian Lobel
(play write and performer) and Professor Roger Kneebone (surgeon, clinician and
educationalist at Imperial College London) saw a great convergence of
medioscientific and artistic minds.
I was fascinated by the points made on
focus and perspective. In one regard the patient is the principle focus, as
depicted by images of surgeons huddled around the boxed off fleshy square of
the patient but in another sense the personality of the patient is completely
out of focus; unconscious with no voice. Discussion about the patient, their
body; their illness continues without them being involved or even aware. However,
as Professor Kneebone pointed out, the advancements in medical technology will
see a shift in this perspective. A patient receiving vascular treatment under
interventional radiology may not only be awake with a voice but also conscious
of the instantaneous benefit that the procedure can bring. I am fascinated as to how the medical
profession will respond to this change in the patient-physician dynamic and am
intrigued to see if my future medical education will reflect this.
I can’t wait to see the performance: An Anatomie in Four Quarters to see the
coming together of music, performance and art under the spectacle and wonder
of the human body.
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