40 Reflections on Learning
What exactly does it mean to reflect?
Reflecting, I believe, is a very important part of the learning process. Having a designated space to take what you’ve just learned and explain it in your own words— without too many constraints— is an opportunity to solidify knowledge while practicing self-awareness. I intend to use this page to articulate on both the subject matter itself, but also how my understanding of it has changed, developed and expanded as time has passed.
Music Therapy and Genetic Counseling: Learning from Guest Speakers
11/30/23
Now that the semester is starting to wrap up, we’ve been doing some reflecting on all the topics we covered this semester. We had a couple of different guest speakers come into class, and there were two in particular that moved me. First, I’d like to talk about Rhonda Miller, a music therapist with a special interest in hospice care. Hearing Rhonda explain her job, and the ways in which music can bring joy, comfort, and healing in a space that is usually associated with pain, loss and grief was extremely fascinating. We also had a genetic counselor come and speak to us about her work in the hospital. Again, her work involved delivering some very unfortunate and difficult information to parents and families, and hearing about how she navigates her role. Hearing from experts in their fields is an incredibly valuable method of learning.
Why Does Medicine Need Art?
10/10/23
The last few weeks we’ve explored how different mediums of art and literature, like storytelling and dance, are crucial to gaining a more complete understanding of health, illness and healing. Last week we visited the Hey Buddy, I’m Bill exhibit at the library, which incorporated videos, pictures and various other artifacts to tell the story of Bill Sackter’s life. All of the information presented in the exhibit could’ve been conveyed in a textbook format, with the script of the short documentary typed out and pictures of all the items on display. But it would lack the emotional depth that was conveyed through the exhibit through things like hearing the voices of the people that knew Bill and looking at the items that he used to carry around. It made his story, and the painful (and honestly pretty recent) history of disability rights, much more impactful. Although medicine and art are two different disciplines, they are much more connected than many people think.
Art can be an effective tool to engage particularly hard-to-reach audiences and elicit emotional and affective responses, especially in medicine.
Harvey, T. S. (2013). Wellness beyond Words: Maya Compositions of Speech and Silence in Medical Care. University of New Mexico Press.
“Making the invisible visible: Sociolinguistics meets medical communication in a travelling exhibition”
9/15/23 This week we discussed the properties of active listening and then practiced it in our daily interactions. I found this activity to be kind of interesting, because it’s not usually something I’m conscious of during most of my conversations. My roommate, a customer at work, and my mother were the three people I practiced this skill with. My roommate and mom didn’t really react to my active listening; I think because these are both really close relationships with people I care about, I’m used to listening on purpose/ we have gotten good at conversing with mutual understanding.
However, I did notice a difference with this gentlemen who I talked with (and actively listened to) at work. Because he wasn’t someone I know very well— actually, at all— it was hard to gauge just how my active listening practice impacted him. However, I do think that his prolonged storytelling was an indicator that the way I was responding had some effect. I felt as though I earned his trust, or perhaps he was just looking for somebody to listen. Either way, I definitely don’t think our conversation would have been as deep or meaningful if I hadn’t engaged practicing this skill. I ended up learning a lot more about his life than I otherwise would’ve and that was a good feeling.
I think the biggest challenge during all three of these interactions was distractions from my surroundings, which included my phone. It sounds pretty awful, but it’s definitely something that I had to put out of my line of sight. There’s something so distracting about a screen lighting up, even if it’s in my peripheral vision and even if I know it isn’t anything urgent. I also found sustaining eye contact to be a bit difficult, most especially with the person I didn’t really know. Overall, I didn’t find these challenges to be overbearing in any way. I think that simply being more self-aware can help me be a better listener, to not only my friends and family, but strangers as well.
The Different Languages of Biomedical/ Social Sciences & Health Humanities
9/8/23
During the first few weeks of the semester we’ve focused on deciphering different approaches to knowledge: from the perspective of the biomedical and social sciences, as well as from the perspective of health humanities. Although both disciplines involve understanding and responding to the broader concept of health, there are key differences between these respective ways of knowing. Biomedical/social sciences approaches rely on data and statistical methods to address health disparities and produce generalizable knowledge. Information is gathered from a variety of practices, including surveys, experiments, interviews, and demographics. Overall, the field strives for objectivity. Humanities, on the other hand, operates subjectively. From the humanities perspective, knowledge is gained from practices like storytelling, visual art, film, literature, debates, and discussion. There is a greater focus on the richness and vastness of human experience, preserving history, and giving voice to individuals.
Before this class, I honestly hadn’t ever seriously considered what comprises these two fields and how they differ from one another. I do, however, remember very distinctly learning about the social construction of knowledge and the process of medicalization from a sociology class about reproductive justice, and being absolutely fascinated. I think that as students and professionals interested in the far-reaching realm of health, we all have a responsibility to acknowledge and respect the value of both ‘languages.’