Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 5, 2001

Volume 30, Number 5

Looking at art proves to help
students become better doctors

Four years after launching a tutorial that brings School of Medicine students into a local museum, Yale researchers have proven their theory that first-year medical students can be trained to become better observers and improve their diagnostic skills by looking at and discussing highly detailed works of art.

The new study was published in the Sept. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Doctors have to be taught to pick up on details that are often overlooked," says Dr. Irwin Braverman, professor of dermatology. "With heightened observational skills, physicians can often ask the questions necessary to make correct diagnoses without relying too much on costly blood tests and X-rays," he notes, adding, "First-year medical students who took this class improved their observational skills by 10%."

To test the theory that observing artwork could improve the observational skills of first-year medical students, Braverman teamed up with Dr. Jacqueline Dolev, who was then a Yale medical student and is now in the University's Department of Dermatology, and Linda Friedlaender, curator of education at the Yale Center for British Art. They developed a tutorial called the Yale Center for British Art Project.

During the two-year study, 81 students received the visual training and 65 students in a control group received no visual training. Both groups were given a pre-test on observational skills consisting of prints of people with various medical conditions. Students who received visual training were assigned a painting at the Yale Center for British Art and given time to observe it. In turn, students discussed the work based solely on what they saw. Back in the classroom, the students were shown prints of people with other medical conditions and asked to write down their diagnoses in three minutes as they had done with the pre-test. The students who received visual training improved their detection of details by 10%, while there was no improvement in the control group.

"The 10% improvement is statistically significant," says Braverman. "It makes the point that you can visually train someone to be a better observer, and it has added a dimension to the way medical students are taught at Yale."

Braverman says the tutorial, which has since been duplicated at other schools, has become an official part of the Yale curriculum and could also serve as a basis for continuing education that is applicable to all physicians.

"The use of representational paintings capitalizes on students' lack of familiarity with the artworks," says Braverman. "The viewers search for and collect all of the details in the paintings because they do not have a bias as to which visual attribute is more important than another. This lowered threshold of observation has direct application to the examination of the patient."

-- By Karen Peart

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

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Endowment increases to $10.7 billion

Beinecke display explores how Yale's library has evolved over the centuries

School of Art show pays testament to Yale alumni's influence . . .

New book will explore ways to combat terrorism

Renowned architect Tadao Ando is year's first Chubb Fellow

Study reveals cells' critical role in fighting cancer

Looking at art proves to help students become better doctors

Archive documents work of lover of nature and good literature

Exhibit features Chinese artist's prison paintings, notes

Former Yale president to discuss public education

Faculty to be featured speakers at campus events

Divinity Dean, faculty serving as presidents of scholarly groups

Link between abolitionism and feminism will be explored in conference

Yale composers are honored with ASCAPLU$ awards

Setting the stage for Yale's gala celebration

Campus Notes