The art of healing

College of Medicine community members take inspiration from medicine and science to spark creativity.

By Danielle Ivanov

Art therapy is a well-known practice in the world of health care. At UF Health, patients can participate in hospital and community programs designed to promote health and wellness through music, literature, visual arts and dance.

Handling craft materials, for example, helps some patients improve fine motor skills and manage symptoms like tremors, while the self-expression and reflection often involved in the creative process supports mental health.

For those on the other side of health care, creating art can be just as beneficial. Whether it is woodworking, oil painting, photography, digital art or even crochet, making time for creativity helps care providers, students and researchers recharge and find beauty in their work and surroundings.

Here, eight College of Medicine students, residents, faculty and alumni share samples of their art, their inspirations and their hopes for how their creativity impacts health care and beyond.

Portrait of Celeste Yergin, MD'23, PhD, Mount Sinai Medical Center general surgery resident in a graduation cap and flower wreath, with accompanying quote: "Art is one of the many ways we can make medicine more personable. I once crocheted a flower for a patient who was bummed that she had to spend her birthday in the hospital. She liked the gift very much."

MEDIUM: CROCHET

portrait of Arielle Ayotte, MD class of '25, with accompanying quote: "Practicing medicine combines scientific knowledge with human connection. It is very personal and requires compassion, understanding and communication skills. Great physicians are holistic in their skills and experience because they help treat patients beyond their immediate medical concern. I hope my talent and experience with the arts help me become a great physician in the future."

MEDIUM: OIL PAINTING

collage of three artworks: a street scene, a young child, and a village on a body of water
Portrait of J. Murray Fadial, MD'67, retired emergency medicine physician, with accompanying quote: "When I look at a subject or object that I'm going to be working up in a painting, I will do several sketches, and I study the subject matter quite a bit. As a physician, when you look at a patient, that patient may come to you because of one issue. But you can't accept just the one issue. You have to review what caused this ... you have to look further. I think looking at a subject has a great deal in common in art as in medicine."

MEDIUM: mixed media art and oil painting

portrait of Gabriel Swords, MD, UF neurology resident, with accompanying quote: "For me, art has been a way to compartmentalize and find joy in my work as a resident physician. Art gives me an outlet of expression to convey emotions for others to share or identify with. It is a tool I use to combat burnout and a medium through which I can share my dreams and aspirations."

medium: AI-generated digital art

Artwork featuring a human skull and brain rendered in vibrant, complimentary colors, with a physician figure examining
portrait of Patrick Tighe, MD'05, MS, UF anesthesiologist and associate dean for AI application and innovation, with accompanying quote: "Sometimes photographs catch our eye and give us a smile or laugh. Others do more and can lead to some really deep reflections on life. When my colleagues and I are on rounds, we'll sometimes chat with patients or among ourselves about the landscape and wildlife photos hanging on the wall — photos taken by UF caregivers, usually! It helps bring some of the natural beauty that surrounds us safely inside."

medium: photography

portrait of Kyle Siefert, PhD '04, James Madison University microbiology professor, with accompanying quote: "I think to be a good scientist, you can benefit from giving that 'science' part of your brain a rest to let it reset and consider things from a different viewpoint. Building things allows me to do that. I am able to be creative when building a boat and detach from work for a period of time. I come back to the work refreshed and inspired."

medium: woodworking

portrait of Mohammed Mumtaz, MD class of 2026 student, with accompanying quote: "I think art and humanities in medicine are assets that both physicians and patients should learn to rely on. Art is by its nature vulnerable, as one's inner thoughts are put on full display for the intended viewers to see. This is quite like medicine, as patients must give their full trust to strangers to be healed."

medium: visual art

Illustration of a lab mouse looking on as a pair of parents smile with their child in a hospital room
portrait of Giuliano De Portu, MD, FACEP, UF assistant dean, assistant professor of emergency medicine, and director of emergency ultrasound, with accompanying quote: "I've always loved to capture human emotion and to document history. It is, in a way, magical that we can capture light into a camera and freeze a moment. I have recently done wildlife photography as a way of enjoying nature and documenting its beauty."

medium: photography

Artful Care

Following the increasing international popularity of social prescribing, where medical providers include arts and cultural activities as a component of their patients’ health care, UF’s Center for Arts in Medicine and the Veterans Administration launched a pilot program in 2021 to study the concept in the U.S. health care system.

Through collaboration between local and statewide health care, insurance, public health and arts sectors, social prescribing connects patients to creative activities in their daily lives, boosting well-being and preventing the onset of disease.

“Like exercise and good nutrition, being creative is a tool we have at our disposal,” said Jill Sonke, PhD, research director of the Center for Arts in Medicine. “The arts are essential for the health of our communities.”

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Arielle Ayotte, Celeste Yergin, Center for Arts in Medicine, Gabriel Swords, Giuliano De Portu, J. Murray Fadial, Jill Sonke, Kyle Seifert, Mohammed Mumtaz, Patrick Tighe

About the Author

Photo of Danielle Ivanov
Danielle Ivanov
Communications Specialist, College of Medicine

Danielle Ivanov joined the UF Health Communications staff in January 2022 as communications specialist for the College of Medicine. She manages the college’s social media, among other writing and communications responsibilities for its many publications. She was raised in Chicago and Gainesville before attending the University of Florida and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in environmental science in 2021. Danielle was previously a reporter for The Gainesville Sun and Florida’s USA Today network.

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