New study emphasizes the importance of arts and humanities in neurology training

(Boston)—Art and neurology have long been intertwined. Renaissance artwork depicted the nuances of human anatomy and pathology with remarkable accuracy, while Impressionism, Cubism, and other artistic movements utilized the unique features of human vision and perception to achieve artistic impact. Just as artists relied on an intuitive understanding of neuroscience, neuroscientists have long documented their findings with artistic renderings of the brain, giving rise to key scientific observations.

Multiple studies have shown that visual arts training improves observational skills, communication and empathy among both medical students and residents in ophthalmology, nuclear medicine, radiology, and dermatology. However, studies examining the benefits of visual arts training for neurology residents remain scarce.

In a new study, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found teaching artistic observation to neurology residents contributed to the development of well-rounded physicians with the capacity to be both skilled clinicians and compassionate healers.

“The art of neurologic diagnosis requires meticulous observation, with careful attention paid to a patient’s history, physical examination and neuroimaging. However, resident physicians face heavy workloads, burnout and emotional exhaustion due to the challenging nature of their training. These stressors have the potential to hinder residents’ observational skills,” explained first and corresponding author Tatiana Greige, MD, a former neurology resident at BMC.

Currently a vascular neurology fellow at Mass General Brigham, Greige created the Museum Art in Neurology Education Training project to introduce BMC neurology residents to the world of visual arts, improve their observational skills, foster their empathic skills, develop their tolerance for uncertainty encountered in clinical practice and provide them with a unique space for self-expression and personal growth through museum-based sessions.

The study participants were resident physicians undergoing training in both adult and pediatric neurology in the Boston University Neurology Residency Program. They received three custom-designed art observation training sessions between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Each session was four hours long and led by professional art educators. The residents completed pre- and post-intervention tests to assess for change in their observational skills. The tests included a combination of MRI images, clinical videos and artworks.

Following the art training, the researchers found observational skills improved significantly for the residents between the pre- and post-intervention tests. The majority of residents noted a subjective improvement in their communication and observational skills as well as an increase in their empathy skills. All of the residents noted feeling more comfortable with the notion of uncertainty in a clinical setting after attending the museum sessions and all of the residents agreed that this project should be repeated for future years.

According to the researchers, humanities can enrich and complement residency curriculum, but beyond any potential educational benefit, they offer a unique and safe space for self-reflection and personal growth. “Art allows for the expression of emotions that may be difficult to convey with words alone. Because art has the potential to capture an expansive breadth of human experience, it may also help medical trainees better grapple with suffering, inequity, and other limitations of the healthcare system,” explained senior author Pria Anand, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the school and director of neurology residency.

These findings appear online in the journal Neurology: Education.