Category: Artwork2021

  • Amir Sabouhanian

    Amir Sabouhanian

     

    In the previous workshops, one of the patient-teachers mentioned that after a mastectomy, one of the nurses had made a comment “… you must not feel like a woman anymore.” The nurse did not have a malicious intent and most likely wanted to sympathize with the patient, but had made an assumption about the patient’s feelings. I, in fact, was once told by a patient about her fear of losing her “femininity” after a mastectomy, and possibly the nurse had had a similar experience as well. However, it is crucial that we do not lose track of the individuality of each patient, and avoid generalizing their experiences and feelings. Two patients undergoing the same procedure can have different and unique concerns, feelings and perceptions from one another. It is easy to let the faces of the patients blur into their condition, as depicted here, but that can adversely affect our therapeutic relationship with them (and each other). This sketch is a reminder about not losing sight of the individuality of each patient and respecting the uniqueness of their experiences.

    Amir Sabouhanian

  • A Breath

    A Breath

    Stillness,

    Breathe in.

    Sweet dreams

    You will be safe again

     

    Breathe out.

    Focus, the slice of a knife

    A dimmed screen

    A mass of tissue

     

    Growing,

    Spreading.

     

    Heart beats in tandem to whirring machines

    A moment of silence.

    Is rarely enough

     

    We made you a promise

    It was broken

    Dashed hopes

    You will never be the same again

     

    Wake up!

    Questions that will haunt us

    Explanation

    This poem is about the discovery of a metastasized cancer in a patient and the subsequent devastation and questioning that occurs. These questions are multi-faceted: questions around our own mortality, the patient’s questions for us, and thoughts of how we could have prevented this.

    Molly Gao & Monisha Persaud

  • Humanism Reflective Pieces, Rotation D

    Humanism Reflective Pieces, Rotation D

     

    We created a collage. Below is the explanation of our collage.

    Our collage aims to juxtapose the information captured in daily SOAP notes with the essence of who our patients are and what they are experiencing during their hospital visit. The black and white soap note is short and concise and contains mostly objective information. These notes are written hastily very early in the morning as we try to complete our daily round on around 20 patients before the operations begin at 8:00am. The surrounding colourful images depict the essence of our patients – their fears, thoughts, beliefs about their health and healthcare, the importance of religion in their lives, their careers, families and loved ones. The food represents their lack of control over what they can eat every day and the types of food offered in the hospital versus the food they could cook at home. The makeup represents how patients like to express themselves and present themselves in public and how they are limited in their self-expression in the hospital.

    Nathalie Loeb and Bishoy Lawendy