MSc in Medical and Forensic Art and Facial Identification. A reflection on the last seven years,highlighting good practice,challenges and future changes

The MScs in Medical and Forensic Art have been running at the University Dundee for over seven years. Many changes have taken place since the first intake in September 2007. This paper will examine how the course has developed over this time, reflecting on examples of good practice, including innovative teaching methods and assessment practices. It will discuss how challenges have been overcome and explore the changes planned for September 2015.     

Nursing art as a practical art: the necessary relationship between nursing art and nursing ethics

In the last decade, nurse scholars have focused extensively on the nature of nursing and its relationship to art and science. This emphasis has also been accompanied by an increasing literature on nursing ethics. In spite of this growing interest, the relationship of nursing art and nursing ethics has been left unclear. This paper proposes that nursing must be considered as a practical art because this conception explicates the relationship of nursing art and nursing ethics. It is based on the thesis that nursing art is subordinated to nursing ethics and as such is a moral art. Different conceptions of nursing art (craft and fine art) will be explored to show their limits. This will be followed by the conception of nursing art as a practical art.     

Setting apart the amateur from the professional: Maintaining the value of standardised representational photography

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of Standard Representational Photography in clinical photography and its aid in maintaining the gold standard in the Medical Illustration profession. It is important that professionals are aware of potential threats to good practice with many areas identified in the article     

Illustrated & Dissected: Professor Richard Sawdon Smith

This Alternative Gallery feature introduces the photographic artist Professor Richard Sawdon Smith. Professor Sawdon Smith's work stems around a fascination with representations of anatomy that have been fuelled by his experience as a hospital patient. The work has allowed him to explore ideas through the use of medical illustrations which include early anatomical drawings, personal medical photography and facial modelling. The work highlights how such imagery can be used in the context of a patient seeking understanding and acceptance of ill health and disease using the body as a canvas on which to translate the experience.     

Commentary on Effects of Exposure to Industry Influence on ACOEM

Abstract

With the assistance of colleagues of like kidney, the authors of an article in this issue have drafted a damning indictment of what purports to be a learned society, as well as casting opprobrium on American. Industry and its medical and scientific henchmen. In this they have not been inhibited by a legal system that imperils authors who dare call a knave a knave.     

Imaging in glaucoma care pathways in the UK

Glaucoma is an incurable disease of the eye that affects 2% of over 40s in the United Kingdom and 5% of those over 80. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimates that the disease affects around 480,000 people in the United Kingdom, with over a million glaucoma-related hospital outpatient appointments each year. This paper aims to establish the care pathways for glaucoma across the United Kingdom and the perceived value of imaging. A questionnaire was distributed to members of the Ophthalmic Imaging Association to identify imaging protocols with glaucoma; results indicated that there was variation between hospitals. The perceived clinical value of imaging from staff involved in the pathway was also explored.     

Recording the Diseased and Deceased: A Historical Look at Medical Illustration in 19th century Bristol.

In 2012 a relic from the Medical Illustration department at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) was unearthed. The forgotten Victorian photographic album contains examples of medical photography from the late 1800s. This historic memento provides a valuable insight into the inception of medical photography at the BRI, as well as allowing 21^st century physicians to assess common Victorian ailments perhaps not regularly seen in western hospitals today. Since the initial finding of the captivating collection, presumed now to be a 19^th century surgeon's scrapbook, the author felt a certain obligation to embark on a research project with the intention of revealing more about the intriguing characters preserved in these antiquated medical photographs and to gain a greater understanding of where they fit in to the wider history of medical illustration. This research project led to the discovery of further evidence of Medical Illustration being undertaken in the region, in the form of a collection of historic drawings discovered at the Bristol Record Office.     

Health and the body: The Ingram Collection at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), London,UK. (3 March to 29 May 2016)

A new Ingram Collection exhibition, Health and the Body, opened for a period of two months at the Royal College of General Practitioners in London. The exhibition showcased paintings and sculptures by artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Barbara Hepworth, Geoffrey Clarke and Leon Underwood the artworks explored representations of the human body, and observed how these intersected with the history of general medical practice.     

Radiological risk from consuming fish and wildlife to Native Americans on the Hanford Site (USA)

Historical operations at the Hanford Site (Washington State, USA) have released a wide array of non-radionuclide and radionuclide contaminants into the environment. As a result of stakeholder concerns, Native American exposure scenarios have been integrated into Hanford risk assessments. Because its contribution to radiological risk to Native Americans is culturally and geographically specific but quantitatively uncertain, a fish and wildlife ingestion pathway was examined in this study. Adult consumption rates were derived from 20 Native American scenarios (based on 12 studies) at Hanford, and tissue concentrations of key radionuclides in fish, game birds, and game mammals were compiled from the Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) database for a recent time interval (1995-2007) during the post-operational period. It was assumed that skeletal muscle comprised 90% of intake, while other tissues accounted for the remainder. Acknowledging data gaps, median concentrations of eight radionuclides (i.e., Co-60, Cs-137, Sr-90, Tc-99, U-234, U-238, Pu-238, and Pu-239/240) in skeletal muscle and other tissues were below 0.01 and 1 pCi/g wet wt, respectively. These radionuclide concentrations were not significantly different (Bonferroni P>0.05) on and off the Hanford Site. Despite no observed difference between onsite and offsite tissue concentrations, radiation dose and risk were calculated for the fish and wildlife ingestion pathway using onsite data. With median consumption rates and radionuclide tissue concentrations, skeletal muscle provided 42% of the dose, while other tissues (primarily bone and carcass) accounted for 58%. In terms of biota, fish ingestion was the largest contributor to dose (64%). Among radionuclides, Sr-90 was dominant, accounting for 47% of the dose. At median intake and radionuclide levels, estimated annual dose (0.36 mrem/yr) was below a dose limit of 15 mrem/yr recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), as well as below a dose limit of 100 mrem/yr proposed by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP). Similarly, lifetime cancer risk (1.7E−5), calculated with median inputs, was below risk levels corresponding to these dose limits. However, our dose and risk estimates apply to only one pathway within a multidimensional exposure scenario for Native Americans. On the other hand, radiation dose and risk corresponding to onsite tissue concentrations were not significantly different from those corresponding to offsite (background) concentrations. Recognizing uncertainties in exposure and toxicity assessments, our results may facilitate informed decision making and optimize resource allocation within a risk assessment framework at the Hanford Site.     

Safer IV therapy: A case study on booklet design

This case presentation introduces the work of a team of designers and how they collaborate to produce visually interesting teaching aids for healthcare professionals.     

The impact of the arts in healthcare on patients and service users: A critical review

This review provides an updated evaluation of the emerging body of literature on the value of the arts in healthcare settings. Internationally, there is growing interest in the use of the arts in the healthcare context supported by the number of research studies reported in the nursing and medical literature. There is evidence that arts interventions have positive effects on psychological and physiological outcomes on patients in a hospital environment. A critical review of the literature between 2011 and 2016 was undertaken. The following databases were searched: MedLine, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science and ASSIA. Searches included words from three categories: cultural activities, outcomes and healthcare settings. Initial searches identified 131 potentially relevant articles. Following screening and review by the research team, a total of 69 studies were included in the final review. The majority of studies examined the effect of music listening on patients/service users (76.8%). These studies were primarily quantitative focusing on the measurable effects of music listening in a surgical context. Overall, the studies in the review support the growing evidence base on the value of the arts in a variety of healthcare settings for patients/service users. The review findings suggest that now is the time for different voices and art forms to be considered and represented in the research on arts in healthcare. Further research is also required to strengthen the existing evidence base.