About.

The full story

Nicola Gill (me)

I’m Nicola and I curate the Art of Medicine Website. I have 20 years’ experience of working as a GP, but I now work purely in medical education.

When I started my career in medical education struggled to find good resources to teach the human dimension of healthcare, that was until I remembered that I learnt many of these skills from reading novels and looking at art. Reading Zola taught me about suffering, reading Hardy about uncertainty and standing in the shadow of Luke Filde’s painting, The Doctor, at The Tate Gallery I learnt about compassion.

Art and creativity have an important role in medical education and in maintaining well-being. For more than 25 years, working as a GP and medical educator, I have used the amazing work of artists, patients and doctors across the world as resources in my teaching and own medical education. This website of resources has been created and nurtured hoping to inspire others to appreciate the power of the arts.

I grew up in Birmingham, England; home to many world-renowned scientists, a culturally diverse population, inspiring buildings and art. I lived on The Cadbury Estate built by George Cadbury whose Quaker beliefs of social responsibility and reform led him to create a model village for his employees. Like many students in the 1980s, I was encouraged to choose between studying science or the humanities. I studied Medicine at Sheffield University where the Medical School’s motto is ‘Ars Longa Vita Brevis’ (Art is long, life is short). I became a GP. After a 23-year career as a GP, I currently work as GP medical educator and spend most of my week facilitating learning using art as a resource and catalyst for change. I am interested in people’s stories and the role GPs play in helping patients live well.

Participation in medical arts seminars enabled me to experience the power of art and creativity as a resource in medical education. The website shares the creative arts resources I have collected and used in my teaching and learning. The aim is for it to grow and inspire other clinicians in their work.

Who else is involved in The Art of Medicine:

Dr Roger Higson

I’m indebted to Roger, for being a trailblazer in the field of medical humanities. This website started with the resources we used in many happy years of co-facilitating creative arts seminars for GP Trainers in Yorkshire and the Humber. Roger is the inspiration behind this collection of resources, his ongoing encouragement and wisdom provide fuel for the project.

Beth Jakeman

Beth is a humanities graduate and lover of The Arts, with a passion for the medium of film and literature. She has a particular interest in how women and gender are portrayed in art. I am grateful for all the Friday afternoons we spent together sifting through the colourful array of arts resources to curate collections of resources to stimulate discussion and broaden horizons.

You, the reader

I’m also grateful for the thoughts, ideas and feedback share by people attending our seminars and using the website.

Library of events

I started this website to share the resources I used in teaching sessions and seminars.

20 years of work has resulted in a large collection of resources, that have been added to through contributions from seminar participants and readers.

My use of art in medical education has grown from a biannual seminar to a career in using the arts with a broad range of professional groups. The following pages contain examples of current work and details of The Art of Medicine Seminars supported by York Medical Society.