Sparkling moments in care

“Sparkling Moments” in Care : Cartooning.

Dr Linda Miller

With a background in Medical Humanities and her own arts practices, Linda has facilitated workshops for doctors, introducing sequential art (cartoons) as a sub- genre of pathography (patient illness narratives) since 2015. Examples shared demonstrate the metaphorical power of this form and some techniques. Postgraduate, mandated, reflection tends to be on the negative; significant events, challenges and complaints . This workshop challenges this pedagogy and brings a positive psychology /coaching approach to reflection. Encouraging participants to value reflection on positive events, is relevant not only for quality improvement in care but also for practitioner wellbeing. A stance of appreciative inquiry in sharing cartoons draws attention to and values the “particular” nature of clinical encounters ,energises and enhances self-efficacy. The cartoon is an abstraction that transcends language and literacy barriers. No artistic ability is required, just paper, coloured pencils, pens or crayons.

Throughout the pandemic Linda has extended her workshop series (delivered through the North West London and South East Thames faculties of the RCGP) to include poetry, shared reading, creative writing for health anxiety, singing, comedy, art and sculpting, zine making, body work and magical thinking. Collaborators include comedians, a Jazz singer, magician, author , Wellcome Gallery librarians and a Feldenkrais practitioner. The term social prescribing is a misnomer that warrants critique, (better called social coaching), but engaging medical students and clinicians with arts in health gives them first- hand experience of the potential value for their patients and themselves.

Dr Linda Miller

Linda is a portfolio GP She teaches undergraduate Health equity, communication skills, professionalism, ethics, and Medical Humanities. She trains doctors to teach and is a GP appraiser. Since 2008 she has coached doctors, dentists, nurses, and senior NHS leaders for the Professional Support Unit (HEE), Faculty of Medical Coaches and the NHS London Leadership Academy so has a good understanding of practitioner wellbeing. Her practice-led, Medical Humanities doctoral research (Birkbeck) explores the use of arts in health and health humanities for doctors' reflective practice and well-being. This builds on Masters research on the well-being benefits of compassion over empathy in doctors' stories.