top of page
meet the creators.
We are a group of graduate healthcare students studying at the University of Toronto in various disciplines. This project emerged from the Interprofessional Health, Arts & Humanities Certificate Program that offers students deeper learning experiences that support patient/client care and leadership skills through practices including art, meditation, mindfulness and narrative medicine. We had the privilege, over the past year, to share in each others stories; below are small pieces of our story.
Learn more: https://ipe.utoronto.ca/curriculum/students/interprofessional-health-arts-humanities-certificate-program
Sharu Kuna In healthcare, the learning journey is lifelong, and teeming with opportunities to evolve, grow, and continue to build ways in which we work and care for the health of people and our societies. Interprofessional collaboration and teamwork is at the core of how we all extend our arms out to (hopefully, seamlessly) become one with the fabric of compassionate healthcare – centred on the holistic wellbeing and needs of the people we care for. I am filled with gratitude to have learned alongside the lenses from my interprofessional colleagues throughout this project and course, as we have connected through touching narratives, the joys and sorrows in the lived experiences of ours and our loved ones, and our commitments to leaning on the strengths of one another. It has been beautiful to witness the intermingling of each of our unique lenses and creative expressive styles as we have worked to materialize the complexities, uncertainties, and humbling nature of what it means to hold space for one’s suffering. Student: Medicine at the University of Toronto. sharu.kunasekaran@mail.utoronto.ca
Catherine Meng What a single person can do is limited compared to the vast possibilities a team can bring. This is true of many important jobs, but is especially vital in treating patients within the field of healthcare. Each person holds a unique piece that can help the patient, when they are brought together the patient receives the best care we can provide them. In medicine, doctors diagnose and prescribe medications but, illnesses can’t be fixed by a drug alone. An illness is physical (visual, auditory, extrasensory), emotional, spiritual, requiring the healing hands of different experts. Through this project and other collaborations in medical school, I’ve realized how important interdisciplinary healthcare is. This project gave me a chance to see through the perspectives of other healthcare professional students, and learn how to see a patient through their story. I will continue practicing creative forms throughout my career; the arts can communicate in a way words can’t. Student: Medicine at the University of Toronto. catherine.meng@mail.utoronto.ca
Kristen Palumbo Since the beginning of my program, I was excited to learn more about other professions and recognized the fascinating importance of providing well-rounded, cohesive care to patients. I acknowledged that a person has many varying issues that they present, but have a full spectrum of needs. A child may have an occupational and physical therapist or an adult may have a physician they are seeing, understanding the roles of different healthcare professionals allow clients to access care that contributes to their development, recovery or overall well-being. I believe that collaborative care creates a positive environment both for the health care workers and the clients to thrive. Completing this project with this bright and compassionate group of peers shows how we can truly learn from others. I hope to keep investing in my creative abilities of tapping into the journaling, art and narrative to work through difficult moments in my career. Student: Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. kristen.palumbo@mail.utoronto.ca
Christen Kong I believe in the presence of social workers as part of an interprofessional team to provide patient and family-centered psychosocial care. Social work helps with assessing the emotional and environmental symptoms of suffering and pain to help navigate complex mental health concerns collaboratively. Social workers seek to mitigate disparities within a person's life, on micro-macro levels, by using strength based approaches to reveal human resilience through innovative, creative and artful approaches. Suffering is not only physically felt, but interwoven with our psyche. I hope to continue using forms such as poetry and audio design as channels for expression and healing to improve mental health and wellbeing. I loved noticing the patterns and shared resilience by each interviewee reinforcing our common humanity. Student: Master of Social Work (MSW) at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. christen.kong@mail.utoronto.ca
Diana Jugowiec I am convinced that the best quality care for patients comes from the collaboration of interprofessional and different healthcare perspectives to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. By understanding the roles of other healthcare professionals, not only will we be able to refer patients in need but work together to create truly innovative, powerful solutions with a lasting impact. As an occupational therapy student, I believe in the necessity of individuals engaging in meaningful activities whether it is things they need or want to do, that makes life purposeful and fulfilling. In order to achieve that goal for patients, interprofessional collaboration can be used to create a holistic, rounded approach to treatment where underlying causes and symptoms can be tended to. This project enabled me to use forms of creativity and art as an expressive outlet to grieve and process the many emotional difficulties that arise in healthcare. The use of creative writing, poetry, and meditation has been a great experience towards my self-discovery and self-growth. I cannot wait to use these tools throughout my healthcare journey! Student: Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. diana.jugowiec@mail.utoronto.ca
bottom of page