Author Mary Stuart

Mary Stuart

Alumni

May 2024 0

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- The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  
  Kelsey Bogdan MD’27 plans to specialize in psychiatry. She got her MFA in studio art before starting medical school, and has always been interested in the intersection of psychology and women’s health, studying neuroscience and women, gender, and sexuality in undergrad. She juried an art exhibition in Chicago, Down There, which aimed to help destigmatize conversations around female anatomy and health. ➡️What brought you to Brown and how does your interest in art intersect with medicine?I’m originally from Chicago and I was recruited to play basketball at Harvard University. I honestly never even dreamed of going to a school like Harvard, but ended up having an amazing experience there. I played basketball there for four years and began taking pre-med classes and studying #CognitiveNeuroscience and women, gender, and sexuality. During my senior year, I took my first art class in silkscreen, and I completely fell in love with art. I not only enjoyed the process of making, but I loved our class discussions around the work. Having been studying #psychology and #neuroscience, when someone would present work about subjects like a certain #MentalIllness they experience firsthand, I felt that by listening to them talk about their work and observing it I could begin to understand their experiences on another level that transcended words. Eventually, I went home and kept making artwork and applied to Columbia College Chicago for my Master of Fine Arts. I literally could have done anything for my thesis work there, but I ended up doing a light-based installation around the vulvar and clitorial anatomy. I spent much of my time there making anatomically rendered sculptures and writing papers about the history of #gynecology, and I was incorporating sex education classes as part of my thesis work as well. I was thinking, “Ok, this medicine track might be right for me.”I ended up choosing Brown University because I felt like they genuinely value and appreciate the #arts and #humanities in #science. I participated in my Brown interview and introduced myself to everyone and [Joanne McAvoy, director of admissions], and how I was in art school at the moment. I was in a Zoom call from my art studio and she simply said, “You are very Brown,” in front of everyone. I usually have to give this spiel to doctors about why studying art is important with being a healer and the #ClinicalSkills that the arts and humanities can teach you, but I didn’t have to do that with Brown. I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in the Scholarly Concentration in Medical Humanities and Ethics with Jay Baruch, MD, who has been such a great advocate for myself and other students trying to pursue research and careers in medical humanities. That was a big reason that I came here, knowing I would be supported in these ways, and I wouldn’t have to constantly justify who I am and why I want to do certain things.➡️ How did you get involved with jurying an art show and what made it unique?My thesis work at Columbia was essentially a disco vulva/clitoris, and the work explored the power of radical joy as a tool of resistance in reclaiming bodies, space, and time. The team at Woman Made Gallery got to know my work and I started chatting with them. A year later, they asked me to jury the show. I sent out a broad call for work and I ended up leaning into abstraction. The whole show was basically about educating and destigmatizing vulvar anatomy, but throughout the entire exhibition you didn’t see a direct depiction of a vulva—it’s all abstracted. It’s an interesting tool to get people to think about the concepts behind the work because it’s not so literal. All the artists had these beautiful, intensely researched statements and ideas behind all their works. There were pieces talking about relationships with body hair, the birthing process, periods and period products, and work by nonbinary and trans artists highlighting how #gender and #anatomy aren’t necessarily one and the same. It covered such a broad spectrum of topics but it ended up coming together really beautifully, sharing important stories around living in a body with vulvar anatomy.➡️ Do you have any current research or projects you’re working on?Myself and Diana Wang MD’27 and Ashley Knebel MD’27 are working to establish the Medical Humanities Initiative, which seeks to connect undergraduates, medical students, residents, and faculty members who have an interest in the medical arts and humanities. There are so many amazing physicians, scholars, and artists working at the intersections of arts and health, and we want to create a database of sorts to help students get more connected to all of the groundbreaking work going on in Providence. A large part of this will be establishing partnerships with the Arts and Medicine Track, connecting interested students to residents working in the medical arts and humanities.We’re also designing an arts curriculum for Doctoring, with the goal of exposing all #MedicalStudents to things like theater, music, narrative writing, and visual art. There are so many clinical skills you can learn from the arts, and medical schools across the country are working to integrate the arts and humanities into their curricula. We are so excited to be able to help expand these efforts at Brown. We have also developed a preclinical elective course for students interested in having a more rigorous engagement with the arts and humanities. I am very excited about this course, because we have had the opportunity to invite really inspiring lecturers across music, art, dance, and narrative to come in and work with students. Opening the doors of the medical school to artists feels very powerful to me, and there is something so important about having these thinkers inside our doors. I cannot wait for this course to take off this coming school year!Finally, we have been working with the Chief Wellness Officer Kelly Holder, PhD to integrate arts and humanities programming into her series of wellness focused lunches. These sessions will be geared towards art-making with active participation, as engaging in the arts has been shown to support #MentalHealth. If I could leave Brown having done one thing, it would be helping to solidify Brown’s place as a hub for medical humanities. There are so many amazing scholars at Brown who have made my own intersectional research even possible. We hope that the Initiative can help connect students more directly to all the work that is being done, hopefully inspiring the next cohort of artist-physicians.➡️ What do you typically enjoy doing outside of your work at Brown?My artistic hobbies overlap so much with my professional life now, but I enjoy going on walks through the main campus. I really enjoy the main green and studying there—I find nature really grounding amidst the chaos of #MedicalSchool. ... See MoreSee Less
  
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  The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  
  In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day, we’re highlighting our breakout session, "Beyond Awareness: Implementing Suicide Prevention Strategies for Medical Residents," scheduled for September 25th during the second annual Suicide in Healthcare & Science conference.Facilitated by Ken Lynch, PhD, this session will address the urgent issue of physician suicide and mental health. Join Dr. Carol Bernstein, Dr. Pat Poitevien, and Dr. Kirsten Loscalzo as they discuss strategies to support medical residents, reduce stigma, and create inclusive environments. Together, let's advance suicide prevention efforts and promote well-being in medical education. For support, call 988. ow.ly/tIxv50SZLUp #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #PhysicianWellbeing #SuicidePrevention ... See MoreSee Less
  
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