Courses
OOOH!! is woven into the fabric of medical education at Bristol. For many years medical undergraduates had a mandatory assignment known by students as “compulsory creativity”. Students were required to create a work of art, in any conceivable medium, that reflected on medical themes. Some did the least they could to pass but a surprising number surprised themselves and us with works of poignancy and calibre.
We have reflected on our experience with OOOH!! in two journal articles:
Artworks
We haven’t got complete records for all artworks, in particular the year of submission for the earliest contributions. The most common course to contribute was “Whole Person Care” which ran from 2002 to 2017. Students subsequently submitted creative pieces in response to their “GP Attachments”. More recent courses include “Foundations of Medicine” and “Y2 Effective Consulting”.
The intercalated B.A. in Medical Humanities, student electives focusing on Poetry, Creative Arts for Health and Anatomical Drawing, plus the Disability Disadvantage and Diversity theme also embed creative practices.
OOOH!! Search & Filter
Use the OOOH!! filter system below to locate all the works dealing with a particular course. The dropdown list “Courses” will reveal all. You can then narrow your search by choosing additional dropdown categories such as Art Forms and Specialties.
Courses
We have reflected on our experience with OOOH!! in two journal articles:
‘Compulsory creativity’: rationales, recipes, and results in the placement of mandatory creative endeavour in a medical undergraduate curriculum
Out of Our Heads! Four perspectives on the curation of an on-line exhibition of medically themed artwork by UK medical undergraduates.
We haven’t got complete records for all artworks, in particular the year of submission for the earliest contributions. The most common course to contribute was “Whole Person Care” which ran from 2002 to 2017. Students subsequently submitted creative pieces in response to their “GP Attachments”. More recent courses include “Foundations of Medicine” and “Y2 Effective Consulting”.
The intercalated B.A. in Medical Humanities, student electives focusing on Poetry, Creative Arts for Health and Anatomical Drawing, plus the Disability Disadvantage and Diversity theme also embed creative practices.
OOOH!! Search & Filter
Use the OOOH!! filter system below to locate all the works in OOOH!! which use a particular medium. The dropdown list “Perspectives” will reveal all. You can then narrow your search by choosing additional dropdown categories such as Art Forms and Diagnoses.
Heart in Your Hands
The privilege of receiving the patient’s heart and soul
Infertility
A GP consultation inspired exploration into the cultural stigma and emotional impact of infertility
To Act in the Best Interests of the Patient
The stressful impact of medical consultations on doctors.
Can curing do more harm than good? – The danger in creating ‘normality’.
Thoughts on the definition of gender – normality as a spectrum
The corridors of death
Clinical encounters during a child’s journey with a life-limiting disability raises questions around the dissonance of the hospital environment
Life Sentences
A mother gives birth and returns to jail without her baby – what is gained from this arrangement?
The Arms of Isolation
Loneliness and anxiety around media coverage of NHS
Give me a Hand
Diverse quotes around the current healthcare profession in the public domain
Donation
Complexity and apathy around organ and whole-body donation
The Wait
The role of patient’s decisions around life-choices within palliative care
Loose Threads
This artwork represents the imagined life of a street worker – a composite character inspired by the work of the Bristol charity One25
The Reach
Questions around how certain cancers dominate the attention of the media, health services and government spending.
An Inward Scream
Post-surgery return to work whilst recovering from cancer.
Life Saver
Appreciation of a GP’s attention – leading to an early cancer diagnosis
Flying with the Ravens
The all-clear four years after a cancer diagnosis brings heady new horizons
Reach Out
Personal insight into medical student stress and the role of counselling
‘But Gampo, your carpet’s dirty’
The author as a child’s attempts to process being alongside a dying relative and reflections around how is grief is experienced across time
The art of adding beauty to the brain
A GP’s approach to living with dementia as an opportunity for growth in herself offers unorthodox, positive, alternatives
Reflections on the Human Form
Drawing on historical and current perspectives to exploring the richness of human form
Up Close and Personal
Balancing anatomy and living presence through portraiture
Perspectives on the Human Condition
Student creative pieces from the 2017 Intercalated B.A. in Medical Humanities
In One Hand a Paintbrush, the Other a Pen
Embodied kinaesthetic learning whilst absorbing verbal knowledge and an exploration of creative engagement and well-being
Ecosystem
The hospital as an intricate, delicately balanced community
Enslaved Mind
Moving beyond our habitual patterns of thought to enhance living creatively – how frozen thought plays a role in mental health
Think Like a Tree
Exploring how looking after ourselves and others holistically might help to reduce the reliance and pressures on our healthcare system
Balancing Boats and Bodies
Seeking what provides each unique individual with the resilience to thrive
Sewing yourself back together
Free-hand embroidery based on exploration of alternative therapies to support post-natal depression.
JK’s Story
A patient’s story following a traumatic family incident through addiction and isolation to a hard-won re-connection to society and regaining well-being
Acknowledging emotional reactions in newly diagnosed patients
The complexity of processing diagnoses
Living with Genetic Diseases
Living with genetic conditions: identity and self-worth through the metaphor of a child’s experience of society and lack of agency
The Individuality of Illness
Three patients’ diverse approaches to challenging medical conditions are sensitively explored and interpreted through imagery and deeply considered prose
Beyond Physical Boundaries
The significance of giving space to the unknown in consultations
Under the Iceberg
Individual barriers to seeking clinical help
The Art of Medicine- ‘The Doctor as an Artist’
A nuanced insight into the dynamic complexities and creativity of clinical consultations within authentic holistic care
So you say I can’t do GCSE PE? Well now I’m a Paralympian.
A home visit brings insight into the role of family and societal attitudes around visual impairment
Between the Cracks
A doctor’s primary duty is patient care; however, what about their own well-being?
Snakes in the heart
Artist coming to terms with diabetes and starting to trust her body again after sense of betrayal
Teflon Man
A patient reflects on his doctor’s delivery of a cancer diagnosis
Ripping, tearing, trapping, snaring
A patient’s visceral experience of surgery and cancer treatment.
Little Things (I missed you)
An inside perspective on the role of the arts whilst living with a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment leads to an international creative initiative
Sweat, Blood and Tears
A student’s personal experience of living with diabetes
Canadian Geese
A mother and daughter share their appreciation of natural forms and systems and walking as a nurturing connection