"Reflections on the medical encounter and medical education in two parts " photographs by Ravi DeSilva in collaboration with Matthew Davis

Exhibit Dates: September 4 - October 31, 2008

See One, Do One, Teach Many: The Physical Exam in Academic Medicine
Ravi DeSilva, M.D.

"This series of images is a reflection on the physical exam in repetition and a possible patient’s perspective. This is also how medical students learn. The images are meant to use humor to arrive at the deeper reality of patients’ and students’ interactions."

This photographic essay recently received the distinction of Honorable Mention in the 2008 Creative Excellence Award Contest, sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Cluster on Health and Human Values.

Dr. DeSilva received his M.D. degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry on May 16.
He will continue post-graduate studies in Surgery at URMC this coming year.

Physician: Flesh and Blood
Matthew Davis, M.D.

"I was on an endocrinology rotation several months ago, preparing to see a patient. My attending glanced at the chart I was reviewing and, upon seeing the patient’s name, a look of concern came over his face. He warned me, [so-and-so] is a well-to-do executive. 'He might not have the patience for a medical student. Don’t hesitate to come get me if he’s reluctant to see you.' To my surprise, I found him pleasant and cooperative.

This experience reminded me of the power we, in medicine, hold over our patients. In four years of medical school, I have become accustomed to expect my patients to simply comply with almost anything I request, however humiliating, personal, invasive, or uncomfortable it might be. Virtually every patient consented to whatever I wanted without giving it a second thought.

This photo essay was born out of my above reflections. The idea was to look at ourselves as budding physicians with the same critical eye we view patients, to expose ourselves as they have to us, to remind us that what we’ve been trained to view as routine and mundane is anything but that to our patients. After all, we’re human too.”

Dr. Davis is a 2008 graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. He is currently a first-year adult psychiatry resident at the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA.

For more information: Matthew_Davis@urmc.rochester.edu; Ravi_DeSilva@urmc.rochester.edu

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POSTED 9/9/08