Doctors without borders-integrating visual art in the medical school curriculum

Background: A physician's career is shaped by lifelong learning and adapting to the world around them. Similarly, the medical school curriculum is ever evolving to train and shape medical students into qualified clinicians. In recent years, the search has shifted to a need for a well-rounded physician: one with medical competency and skills of effective communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and empathy. Although the visual arts have been used as a teaching tool throughout centuries, it has not yet become part of medical education. Objective: To explore how the implementation of visual arts into the medical school curriculum can aid in medical student's development as physicians by improving their observational skills, analytical skills, critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and empathy. Methods: A structured analysis of current literature was performed to understand the relationship between visual arts and its uses for enhancing medical school education. Results: Implementation of visual art into medical student's training was found to improve their observational skills in clinically purposeful ways and helped build students' visual literacy skills. Conclusion: Implementing visual art into the medical school curriculum has the potential to be a great tool in training the next generation of well-rounded physicians.