Volume 20

December - 2020

Cover: Winter hike

As a child, I watched Bob Ross on TV on the weekends with my father. After a 16 year painting hiatus, I began painting again and discussed art with my father. Now, we routinely send each other landscapes and discuss future paintings. During the COVID pandemic, I've found a great hobby and another connection with my family. This also contributes to my wellness as painting is a peaceful process. Exercising artistic creativity is itself a way to feel refreshed and important to me to prevent burnout.

Acrylic on canvas

Letter from the Editors:

Warmest wishes for a happy holiday season, merry Christmas and an astounding New Year as we bring a close to this most difficulty of years! It has seen a variety of challenges for emergency providers, from increased stress in and out of hospitals. We hope you have continued to care for yourself through these troubling times and take the holiday season as an opportunity to emotionally connect with those you love and who bring you fulfillment while remaining safe and socially distant.

We look forward to seeing what 2021 brings, along with the hopes of widespread vaccine distribution

Internal Turmoil

I started this during zoom conference one Thursday morning. Learning looks quite different this year.

Huge crochet doily (41 inches), cotton yarn, some plastic tubing held together with dermabond.

Honestly

When I write music, often it's for a collaborative project or an idea for a song in my head. When I'm in the "zone" and everything comes together the feeling is akin to making a difficult diagnosis and successfully resuscitating someone who later walks out of the hospital on their own. Having practiced EM for 25 years, with the now corporatized focus in medicine, I feel I'm now ready to spend more time doing music.

This song is an expression of conflicting emotions regarding a relationship or anything else.

Untitled

A quick dip

Weekend escapes have become both necessity and my saving grace. In an attempt to remain distant (and for my own selfish love of nature) I’ve been trying to take as many hiking trips as my schedule allows. Here’s a shot from when I was feeling inspired, whole, and at ease. I hope it instills the same feelings in those who see it.

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:

Andrew Thorne, MD

I am an emergency medicine resident at Harbor-UCLA with a passion for wilderness medicine. I began pursuing photography in medical school as yet another way to engage with the outdoors and share the beauty I find with others.

Darrell G. Looney, MD

Finished EM residency in 1995. Have been playing violin since middle school and jazz since high school. Stopped during medical school and residency but picked it back up around 1998. Have been writing music and collaborating since then. Find more of his work on Facebook.

Diana Trumble, MD

EM resident using yarn to keep myself sane in residency during a pandemic.

Jonathan Warren, MD

A PGY-1 at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and founder of Art of Emergency Medicine. His hobbies include photography, hiking, Netflix, and dogs. He’s always on the lookout for the next adventure. Find more of his photography on Instagram.

Shivam Shah, MS

Shivam is a 4th-year medical student excited about joining an EM residency program this season. He previously interned with the U.S. Surgeon General and was National Delegate to the AAMC in 2019. Growing up, Shivam watched his father paint and developed an interest in music, painting, and poetry. During the pandemic, Shivam is cultivating his interest in acrylic painting, recording a solo piano album of original works, and publishing a compilation of original poems. See more work on Twitter.

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