Deepening compassion through the mirror of painting

Context and setting A 2-hour workshop on ‘Suffering in the Mirror of Arts’ was held at the Annual Meeting of the Israel Association of Family Medicine (IAFM) in March 2004. The focus of the workshop was to enhance the understanding of suffering and deepening compassion for sufferers. Why the idea was necessary One of the tasks of medicine is to alleviate suffering. Understanding the nature of suffering is the first step in attempting to relieve it. Medical students can learn about suffering and sufferers by reading books and articles, by their own experience, or through the experience of their loved ones. Effective doctor–patient communication is vitally important to the understanding of patients' narratives and their suffering: this is why a significant part of medical schools' curricula is devoted to teaching interpersonal communication skills. However, understanding suffering and deepening compassion to sufferers continue to be difficult goals for doctors and a challenge in medical education. Literature and the arts offer a different perspective on human experience as well as on human suffering. Throughout history, artists have expressed the theme of suffering in painting. Painting has been used mainly in undergraduate medical education for improving observational and diagnostic skills. Looking at paintings as a mirror of human suffering could be a valuable tool in medical education for the better understanding of suffering and deepening compassion for the sufferer. What was done The workshop was facilitated by a family doctor with a medical humanities MA specialising in arts and medicine and an art historian. The aim of the workshop was to improve participants' ability to observe paintings in which human suffering was the central theme. The goals were to enhance the understanding of human suffering and deepening compassion for sufferers. The participants were shown 3 paintings: ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’ by Rembrandt, ‘Death in the Sickroom’ by Edvard Munch and ‘The Doctor’ by Sir Luke Fildes. After viewing each painting, the participants were asked and encouraged to write a short story about what they had seen, and present it in the group. Each presentation was followed by a group discussion, facilitated by the family doctor, in which all ideas and analyses were welcome. At the end of the discussion the art historian gave a short comment on each painting and the artist. Evaluation of the results and impact A total of 18 participants completed a questionnaire at the end of the workshop. They indicated a change in their attitudes towards suffering and compassion for the sufferer. Some of the participants wrote that the workshop was a unique experience for them. They found the opportunity to view paintings with colleagues, to write a short story about painting and to discuss suffering in paintings within the group fruitful and enriching.