American Illustration 33 Winners

What the Brain Can Tell Us About Art.

GRAY MATTER: What the Brain Can Tell Us About Art. NYTimes Sunday Review, 4/14/13. So how does our brain respond to portraiture? As we look at a portrait, our brain calls on several interacting systems to analyze contours, form a representation of the face and of the body, analyze the body’s motion, experience emotion, and perhaps, empathy. Along with these instantaneous responses, we form a theory of the subject’s state of mind. - the real “eye” of the beholder is the brain itself.

Encouraging Doctors to Admit Errors

Encouraging Doctors to Admit Errors. Another way to end the “shame that prevents caregivers from coming forward” when adverse medical events occur is to enact apology laws that allow health care providers to talk to patients and families after an unforeseen outcome without fearing litigation based solely on that conversation. When an adverse outcome occurs, regardless of the reason, health care providers want to explain what happened. Likewise, patients deserve to know what happened, and they want assurances that the provider will take steps to prevent the same mistake from happening again. But without protections that apology laws bring, health care providers still “deny and defend.” It’s a terrible approach to medicine — a culture that only magnifies the shame the doctors and nurses feel after near misses and drives up medical costs. Since an apology program was adopted by the University of Michigan Health System, improved communication with patients has cut litigation costs in half.

The Fast Food Fruit