Volume 22

February - 2021

Cover: covid commute

As for this picture, I was out shooting with a friend of mine who is also into photography. We were waiting for the subway, he was taking a picture of something and i was just looking around when I thought that this scene had some atmosphere I wanted to capture. As for the form of art, street photography is my favorite form of photography because it freezes a moment in some random persons life while doing something probably mundane they don’t think twice about. Yet the picture you create is still alive and telling a story.

Letter from the Editors:

Welcome back to another wonderful volume of Art of Emergency Medicine! This month, we’re focusing on self-care as we reach the 1 year mark since the start of this pandemic. As fatigue continues to grow, it is important to have an action plan for centering yourself, especially after particularly stressful shifts. We have been trialing these six steps at the end of each day for both a moment of mindfulness and to allow ourselves to switch from the working side of our brain, to a more relaxed mindset.

• Make sure you are eating, sleeping, drinking enough.

• Focus on what you did well on shift.

• Learn from mistakes that you made and let them go

• Check in on your colleagues

• Transition from your work mind, to your home mind

• Do something you enjoy and relax, reach out for help if needed

We hope you will join us in clearing your thoughts, focusing on the victories, and enjoying your days.

A covid christmas in the icu

I was working over the holidays in the ICU as part of my core rotations and had been seeing quite a bit of death and morbidity that comes with COVID patients on the vent. I wrote this and posted on my social media as a way to express how I was feeling and the situations I was dealing with while many of my non-medical colleagues went about their normal holiday routines. Many of which with minimal acknowledgment of a global pandemic affecting their plans as they became cavalier with their interactions and travels.

Red river gorge series

Art is therapeutic in its own right.

Peek-A-Boo

We were deep within the slot canyons in Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument to the point that it was dark and flashlights were needed to see our path. A ray of light shined down onto the slot canyon floor, and looking ahead, we saw our exit. It was our light at the end of the tunnel and a sign that our hike had brought us back to the surface. It resonates with me now when thinking about our slow approach back to normalcy with increased COVID vaccine distribution, and a collective light at the end of the tunnel that continues to edge closer.

Untitled

I took a closeup of one of my images of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville Florida. I gave it a filter in Photoshop and cropped an area. Just to work with patterns and textures.

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

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This Months Featured Artists:

Frederik Van Rossum

I just recently started working as an EMT in the midst of the COVID Pandemic near Bonn, Germany. I started getting into photography at 15 with my mom’s small point and shoot, since then photography started to grow on me. Now I‘m out and about with my camera as often as possible. Besides photography I love the art of movies and cooking. Especially now photography provides a great stress relief and some peaceful time to recharge from work. See more of his work on instagram.

Giuliano de Portu, MD

I was a professional photojournalist and went to medical school at 33. Currently still doing imaging for fun! You can see more images at www.giulianodeportu.com

Jon Gaddis

My name is Jon. Prior to EKU's Emergency Medical Care program, I'd always taken an interest in fine arts. I currently work as a paramedic in the Emergency Department (I'm also a current student), and my sense of peace has always been tied to outdoor pursuits; those interests led me to volunteer as a Wilderness Paramedic for RedSTAR in Kentucky's Red River Gorge - which had been a source of inspiration for some of my more recent artwork. The experiences I've had over the years in emergency medicine and the lessons I take from it compliment all areas of my being; I am always learning and growing from them. My art (primarily traditional acrylic on canvas) and my interests across the many disciplines might capture some of the moments on my journey, or reflect upon them. I have found great joy in painting and it has translated positively in all areas of my own life - and hope you can find joy in your own art.

Vincenzo Happach, DO

I graduated from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013. I spent 7 years as an active duty US Navy Medical officer, 5 of which were as an Aeromedical Officer. I'm currently an Emergency Medicine PGY-1 at the Coliseum Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency in Macon, GA. See more of his work on instagram.

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.

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