Is Medicine And Nursing An Art
The first time that I heard that medicine and nursing was an art I did not understand what that phrase entailed. I mean when I think of art, I think of beautiful paintings full of color presented in a way that evokes a feeling of what that painter must have felt when creating his master piece. So, how can this definition be applied to practicing medicine or even nursing? I decided to dig a little further to understand what the definition of art really is. According to Merriam-Webster, “art is a skill acquired by experience, study, or observation.” Again, I can visualize this happening when an artist adds his careful strokes and mixtures of colors to a blank canvas to form a picture, which at one point was buried deep in his mind. While it may appear that an artist has a natural talent that is not enough as he also has to have some set of skills. A person acquires a set of skills through studying under other mentors and by observing his environment. I will also add that every artist needs to gain an understanding of the science of the tools, lighting, and even the placement of strokes in order to define his craft as memorable. If this is true for painting then it can also be said that practicing medicine and nursing is indeed an art.
Medicine has been evolving over centuries. Its core is based on intuition and values to console patients when they become injured or are affected by disease. The science of medicine cannot stand alone without the humanistic qualities of compassion and the drive to do good without further harm. Medicine and nursing is a human to human relationship which is established when a patient reaches out for help and the clinician agrees to try their best to alleviate symptoms in order to help that person return to the best level of wellness possible.
If one really wanted to witness the true art form of medicine and/or nursing on full display it would be in the oncology population. Cancer does not discriminate and it has no bounds. It does not care about your age, how much money you have in the bank, and it does not care if you still had dreams left to complete. It comes out of nowhere and can ravage not only a person’s body, but it can also destroy a person’s soul. As a caregiver, we are on the front lines when they hear the dreadful news. We witness the fear in their eyes and give them hugs while they cry, but we can’t guarantee how it will all turn out.
We stand on the sidelines giving these patients the best care options possible along with as much compassion that we can muster. We do everything we can to help a patient maintain their dignity while they put up the best fight of their lives. So, if anyone ever had a doubt whether or not medicine or nursing is an art, ask an oncology patient. What you will often hear is that they did not survive the journey of cancer because of the technology or medicines, but rather they made it toward their destination point because of the kind act of the human touch mixed with experience and knowledge. One cannot stand without the other, but together they form an intricate piece which fits perfectly into the masterpiece called life. Now isn’t that art?
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