This ePortfolio is meant to provide an overview, reflection, and documentation of my educational experience and achievements through the lens of Health and Medical Humanities, functioning as a bridge of my two degrees in Fine Arts and Health Systems Management.

Medical Humanities Concepts

The Health and Medical Humanities minor focuses on a variety of concepts including the heartful embodiment of illness, mortality, fragility, health, and healthcare settings through literature, the arts, humanities, and the social sciences. Currently, I am taking a class called Introduction to Health and Medical Humanities: Alternative Ways of Knowing the Body, which focuses on patient centered care and human side of medicine and health, while also enhancing interpersonal relationships between patients and practitioners by understanding the effects of health, wellness, and illness on patients, on health professionals, and on the social cultures. This further seeks to understand concepts through the ways of knowing: Holistic, Contemplative, Embodied, Heartful, Empathetic, Aesthetic, Ethic, Critical, Cultural, Social, Narrative, and collaborative. This focus to enhance and improve observation, empathy, communication, cultural understanding, human compassion, sensitivity, and creativity, involved in healthcare.

In this portfolio, I demonstrate how my experiences and my related coursework showcase Health and Medical Humanities concepts. Specifically, my work illustrates humanities in Fine Arts, Health Systems, and reflection on the International Healthcare Perspective.

Observation through the aesthetic way of knowing intimately captures the human experience through acute awareness, flow, and visual analysis. Fine arts gives us a unique perspective and documentation of what it means to be human by providing a still pause, giving greater understanding of the human condition and our connections to each other. It is an outlet for expression and documentation into the lens of humanities that could not otherwise be captured. An artist becomes a quiet contemplative voice with the duty to record and create heartful expositions that illuminate and represent society. The following pieces of art demonstrates my own understanding of the aesthetic way of knowing through the ability to capture emotion, creating a piece of art that becomes more than just a picture; It becomes a story, a voice, a way to heartfully communicate and capture the fragility of humanity.

Figure Drawing Course Work

Untitled

Charcoal on Bristol paper

13”x16”

Spring 2017

This assignment was to render live model with charcoal under 15 minutes. My goal in this piece was to realistically render this female model in her current pose in a limited time frame. I particularly enjoyed this pose and purposefully exaggerated shadows for effect.

I believe the Untitled was successful in its perspective and value range. There are some less developed successful parts, such as the left arm and leg that adds artistic dimension, combined with repetitive smooth value transitions and line work. This piece demonstraties my understanding of the aesthetic way of knowing humanity through awareness, attention to detail, and creating a work that evokes emotion.

All of these figure drawing works were done in charcoal, from a live model, within a limited time frame of no more than 30 minutes. This course refined skills of focus, attention to detail, observation, assertiveness, and quick accuracy under pressure. This course helped me to aesthetically know and understand the body through repetitive examination and replication.

Other Illustration Course Work

My study abroad research in India and Israel will discuss the cultural obstacles and division faced between shared territories of Palestine, Israel, and the states of India, relating to the division found all over the world. I will further explore these implications to humanities, acceptance and equal opportunity through patient care and the impact this has in perspective of health and medical humanities.

India is a densely populated region whose population is four times larger than the United States. Moreover, the population lacks diversity, with primarily all Indian ethnicity, and due to gender prejudice, the population primarily male. The Indian region has so much potential, with many willing and intelligent people ready for the opportunity to make a positive change, to create a better society, and contribute their rich culture to the rest of the world. However, due to poor government enforcement of established laws, there are terrible injustices in gender equality, sanitation, mental health, and nutrition issues: Gender inequality remains to be a huge issue due to dowry, low female population, and less opportunity for females to have jobs and participate in society. Unfortunately, negative stigma to the people with illnesses disabilities remain to have huge social obstacles and lack of resources and access to healthcare. Communities in Chennai benefit greatly from charitable organizations, many from Christian origin, to provide medical access, education, and rehabilitation. Every educated Indian citizen is very politically informed and many dedicate their lives to work an activist to change society.

Health and Well-Being in India: Exploring Social Work and Public Health Intersections study abroad course where I was able to research and experience first hand the medical health system in India and the effects of cultural norms on the domestic population. My goal in this study abroad course was to help me define a international healthcare narrative that would give a more complete humanistic understanding of the needs of international health of society by inciting a deeper understanding of human needs worldwide. Everyday we traveled to educational institutions, charitable organizations that provided shelters, government provided homes, orphangies, healthcare facilities, rehabilitation centers, and refugee programs. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of these people. I was saddened to experience their story and see the financial struggles these families go through. It is a very poor country compared to America. However, and quite ironically, the government provides more financial support to its citizens than America does. Education is everything; it is the cure-all for a lot of their society's problems. A tragically common narrative for families in India is families who are fortunate enough to send their son to school, usually do so by selling much of what they have, even most of their land, to pay the way for their child’s education. The classes, however, are extremely difficult and intense, and the child fails their classes. Caving under all the pressure and disappointment from his family, many commit suicide. Suicide rates are a huge problem in India. Even with programs and therapy in place to help these students, they are only able to save 3 percent of depressed students from suicide. My study abroad programs have enabled my to hear the narratives of other communities and the hardships the societies face, increasing my cultural knowing, deeping of empathic knowing of people around the world, and made me realise the importance of the awareness of narrative knowing. There are so many stories people need to hear, and so many that need help. Moreover, I participated in a group gender equality study where we shared our experience, ideas for change, and collected research.

Gender Equality Research and Reflection Group Video

By Jessica Willard, Grace Byrd, and Jacqueline Stephens

Israel is a place of rich cultures and religions, from Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Ironically, those of opposing religions live side-by-side in one community, but yet struggle to coexist. Palestinian territories are isolated, segregated territories in Israel, that are understeer strict surveillance and quarantine. These communities are walled off from rest of the world, stripped of all rights and access to resources unlike the rest of Israel. Segregation and prejudices are very prevent in Israel primary due to broken empathic understanding, ethical utilitarian knowing, and broken and unrealized cultural ways of knowing, instead of seeking to connect with those in our community in embrace of cultural and religious diversity. This Independent Religious course studied on multiple religious cultures on Judaism, Isliam, and Christianity. Everyday we travel around Israel and Palestinian territories to significant historical sites and religious sites that are to significant to Israel's history. I goal for this course was to introduce me to other cultures and gain a better understanding of religious sites and cultural struggles and oppression that exists.

I cherish my experience residing in the community of Palestine and its territories in the West Bank. I was invited to a Palestinian home where I was welcomed by a lovely Palestinian Christian Orthodox family. I listened to their narrative and was brought to tears. The violence that exists in the community, chaos, and authoritative abuse by the Israel government is heart-breaking. Everyday is uncertain to what they will face, but they continue to press on in their faith. Access to resources, healthcare, and even freedom to leave their restricted territory is extremely limited. A huge wall separates these territories and is covered by Palestinian art activist murals.

International Healthcare Perspective Conclusions

The implications of division is crippling to communities all over the world. So many suffer. So many fight against the stigma and oppression by their fellow neighbors. These experiences have shown me how beautiful, but yet so broken the world truly is. There is so much need everywhere, and the world needs more people who want to restore and help through empathy and heartful understanding. We need to come together and get back to a humanistic foundation that is inclusive and seeks to understand each person equally and holistically. My own narrative helps me understand the story of my life and body, but we are not simply our own body. We are a body of a cumulative whole that represents each other. To long we have lived to hear and write our own narrative when we should hear and help to rewrite others, to rewrite the world’s. It starts with escaping ignorance, increasing awareness, and beginning to listen and hear the narratives of other societies.

Long-Term Career Goals (over 4 years):

1. Enter in Health Administrative/Management role in the Radiology Sonography field

2. Work with/shadow surgeons to determine future career goals

3. Refine budgeting and select area of permanent residence

Short-Term Objectives (under 2 years):

Professional Development

Opportunities for enhancing skills within my major and/or intended career that reflect my career goal above that will be accomplished in the next 1-2 years:

Current:

a. Gain experience working as a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) to develop patient care skills

b. Enter South Piedmont admissions for 2020. Upon into the Diagnostic Medical Sonography training program, begin working clinically

Future:

c. Determine desired master’s program in Healthcare Administration. Enroll in Master’s program before April 2020 and complete/mostly complete by 2022

d. Identify desired healthcare organization and become hired as Diagnostic Medical Sonographer by 2022

Additional training or skills you intend to acquire (CPR, grant writing, CNA).

My current certified skills:

a. CNA

b. CPR

c. BLS

Skills to acquire:

a. Sonography Certification, 2022:

b. ARDMS Certifications: