Graphic Medicine : pictures for care and healing
As many people know, my talks are big on repeated images: a (borrowed) ven diagram to explain how the elements of evidence based practice combine in true informed consent*; a heart to remind people that with all we do it is about ’empathy first’ ; a pause button to embed the idea, the ethic really, of reflective practice. I’ve no talent for well rendered art – rather, I hope that the beauty of this is that maybe my use of crudely sketched stick figures is less intimidating and , I hope, conveys useful ideas.
Still, it is wonderful to learn about the growing field of graphic medicine, where people far more skilled are building a community with a mission to leverage the advantages of comics in health care. A central figure, Dr. Ian Williams, recently published the graphic novel Bad Doctor. It is both intimate and accessible, defining of the genre.
See my quick review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3DGN76DGTOGF0.
And please let me know if my own graphics are of use – see my first graphic novella, Love & Potions, about a young couple, both with autism, seeing a psychiatrist. It’s posted, free of course, on circlestretch.com.