Increase in Sharing of Stressful Situations by Medical Trainees through Drawing Comics

Abstract

Introduction. Medical trainees fear disclosing psychological distress and rarely seek help. Social sharing of difficult experiences can reduce stress and burnout. Drawing comics is one way that has been used to help trainees express themselves. The authors explore reasons why some medical trainees chose to draw comics depicting stressful situations that they had never shared with anyone before. Methods. Trainees participated in a comic drawing session on stressors in medicine. Participants were asked if they had ever shared the drawn situation with anyone. Participants who had not previously shared were asked what prevented them and why they shared it now. The authors performed content analysis of the responses. Results. Of two hundred forty participants, forty-six (19.2%) indicated sharing an experience for the first time. Analysis of the responses revealed dedicated time and space was essential to sharing, trainee insecurity was a barrier, and comics were perceived as a safe way to communicate. Discussion. Depicting a stressful situation may be beneficial for trainees who drew an experience they had never shared before. Providing trainees with the opportunity to externalize their experience and create a community for sharing tough experiences may be one way to reduce trainee stress and burnout.

In-verse reflection: structured creative writing exercises to promote reflective learning in medical students

“…Some students even appreciated the humor inherent in the approach (e.g., "Adding humor is therapeutic in reflection and allowed me to overcome thoughts and experiences that were previously avoided or swept under the rug" [F19]). Of course, ours is not the only method to draw on this element of humanities pedagogy; a similar underlying spirit can also be seen in the successful use of comics and other creative practices in medical education (Green 2013;Shapiro et al 2021;Maatman et al 2021). Such playful learning can be a valuable counter to the typical emphasis on the "logics of efficiency, competition and achievement" (Jensen et al 2022, 206) that can characterize many medical courses, while other research suggests that play promotes learning and engagement and helps create relational safety and positive affect and motivation (Forbes 2021).…”

Art Interventions to Mitigate Burnout in Health Care Professionals: A Systematic Review

“…In the workshop designed by Maatman et al, 240 medical students drew comic strips to depict stressful situations in medicine with 19.2% of students sharing an experience they had not revealed previously, introducing the opportunity to receive support and reflect together. 29 Participants in the Strohben et al art reflection intervention described increased “insight into the biases [...] into certain interactions, especially in the hospital”. 30 …”

Graphic medicine meets human anatomy: The potential role of comics in raising whole body donation awareness in Italy and beyond. A pilot study

“…An important theme, which emerged from the responses, was the ability of the graphic medicine to reduce stress. Indeed, medical students are constantly under pressure and in this context, the use of graphic medicine was recognized in the open‐ended responses as useful to reduce stress and anxiety (Maatman et al, 2022). Here is a sample of the open‐ended answers regarding the category commented above: “ I loved the exercise about drawing with our eyes closed.…”

“…are constantly under pressure and in this context, the use of graphic medicine was recognized in the open-ended responses as useful to reduce stress and anxiety(Maatman et al, 2022). Here is a sample of the open-ended answers regarding the category commented above: "I loved the exercise about drawing with our eyes closed.It was funny and a moment of silliness to destress as well.…”