As a film academic married to a doctor, I spend a lot of time, one way or another, having conversations about the different academic perspectives of the arts and science. My wife and I have slowly learned each others' academic and technical vocabulary and gained a sense of each others' disciplinary view on the world. I get to enjoy her pointing out the litany of medical errors in House, she patiently tolerates my nerding on montage editing or the representation of disability.
While I remain sadly unable to perform a tracheotomy with a biro, Helen has become steadily more creative during her years as a doctor. I don't get much of the credit for this. She talks more about wanting to balance the intensity of medical practice and reflect on her experiences through journalism and photography.
Bristol University's medical students are encouraged to do so, and the fascinating and apparently notorious results are showcased in a gorgeous web space, OutofOurHeads.net. One of my favourites was Yolanda Massey's witty and wry photo-essay, Imagine If?, in which fruits and vegetables are used to represent the damaged and fragile human body and mind.
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