Volume 18

October - 2020

Cover: Shrine

This photo was shot at Kibune Shrine Okumiya located in Kyoto, Japan in 2019.

Letter from the Editors:

Welcome to another wonderful volume of Art of Emergency Medicine that is jam-packed with paintings and photographs created by your colleagues in the specialty.

We are so excited to have paired with ACEP again this year to bring you The HeART of Emergency Medicine Virtual Art Gallery. If you’re planning to attend, we highly recommend take a digital stroll through the hall to view the wonderful pieces from both AoEM alums and some other wonderful artists within the emergency medicine community.

This month, we’ve been focusing on negative thoughts. Those little voices in our heads that tell us we aren’t adequate or that we’re not doing enough. Mindfulness is accepting that these thoughts occur and just as simply as watching a bird across the sky, allow them to move on without intervention. Our thoughts cannot be isolated from our mind, but they need not overwhelm them. This month, we encourage you all to take a moment to center yourself. Use your hobby or project to focus and reflect on thoughts, acknowledging them and allowing them to pass like the birds in the sky.

Emergency Room

I’m so grateful that our ER shifts are 3 days a week. The rest of the week gives me time to plan my next artwork. My colleagues participate in my art too. They’re my inspiration. I use them as models and they give me ideas to express our daily hard work as physician assistants, nurses and doctors. Painting and creating art as a representation of my life is therapeutic and a release from the daily stresses we encounter.

Acrylic on Canvas 30x40

Horse on Sliabh an Iarainn

I am originally from Ireland, and I was walking on Sliabh an Iarainn (the “Iron Mountain”), in County Leitrim, near my mother’s homeplace, after a particularly heavy rain storm. The sun was just starting to come out and all of a sudden this horse appeared at the door of an old abandoned house, coming outside after the rain. White horses have much significance throughout mythology and religion but in this period of COVID-19, I think we can all take a positive message from this white horse emerging after the storm.

Mt. Humphries

We were camped at 11,500 feet at the base of Mt. Humphries in the Eastern Sierra Mountains. An afternoon thunderstorm had just blown through, and as the sky began to clear we looked back at our camp. Swirling clouds and the towering Mt. Humphries dwarfed our tent, which blended in with the surrounding boulders. For a few days the surrounding mountains became our home, and we immersed in the stark landscape filled with granite crags and alpine lakes.

Moving forward

I took this picture during a trip to Jasper National Park in Canada. Having finished a demanding clinical year, it was so relaxing to be surrounded by beautiful glacier mountains and sparkling lakes. I took the time to reflect on the highs and lows of the year, learning to accept my past and the mistakes I had made.

Do you want to see your art shared with the community? Don’t forget to submit today!

Finally, don’t forget to share Art of Emergency Medicine with your colleagues, friends, and family on Twitter or Instagram and like us on Facebook for all the latest news!

This Months Featured Artists:

Keerthi Gondy

I'm an M4 at the University of Michigan applying to Emergency Medicine this fall. I entered medical school with no clear idea what specialty to choose until my close mentors introduced me to EM and I immediately fell in love! I am passionate about medical education, especially end-of-life care in the ED, and resilience/wellness. Outside of medical school, I'm an avid triathlete, nature-lover, and an advocate on climate change and sustainability. I also enjoy creative writing and photography as outlets for creativity and means of recharging from the stress of medical school. Follow more of their work on Twitter or Instagram.

Louie Wang

My name is Louie and I am a third year medical student at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. I received my camera as my birthday gift in 2013 and have been shooting nature/landscape photograph ever since. I enjoy traveling, camping, hiking, and explore food scenes.

Rosa Ann Roantree, MD

I’m the associate program director for the emergency medicine residency at Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, NY, and have a long history in EMS as well. I love to travel and take landscape photographs. It’s so peaceful compared to the chaos of the ED.

Tyler Kirchberg

I am a first year medical student at UCSD very interested going into Emergency Medicine. I have always loved the outdoors, and I use photography as a fun and rejuvenating way to capture some of my favorite places to be outside. In my free time I also enjoy swimming, biking, skiing, camping, and reading.

Val Tarsia, PA

I’ve been a physician assistant in a fast-paced, busy Emergency room for 6 years. Growing up, I always wanted to study medicine and in college I was fortunate to study fine arts as a minor. My parents encouraged my art hobby since I was a kid. Now I get to share my art and incorporate medicine as my subject. The colleagues I work with are fierce and beautiful models to represent some of the action we experience, especially during Covid-19.

You can learn more about the artists featured in this and other volumes at our contributors page!