Inclusive bodies?

Inclusive bodies? by Giuliana Brancaleone

For the project “DIY in Medicine” (MeDIY), our group visited the Skillslab of the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences of Maastricht University. The Skillslab seeks to offer instruction on the skills required for a professional doctor-patient encounter to medical students and other healthcare workers. We were allowed to spend an afternoon in the facility to get a better idea of how medical students acquire and develop their expertise.

For the project “DIY in Medicine” (MeDIY), our group visited the Skillslab of the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences of Maastricht University. The Skillslab seeks to offer instruction on the skills required for a professional doctor-patient encounter to medical students and other healthcare workers. We were allowed to spend an afternoon in the facility to get a better idea of how medical students acquire and develop their expertise.

We started in one of the rooms where students can practice on one another. Following our initial assessment of the space, we opened several cabinets and drawers to examine the various models we discovered inside. We came across skeletons, an infant model, a knee model, a head model with an androgynous appearance made of Styrofoam, and much more. There was also a head model to inspect the ear, which I presumed to be feminine based on facial features, the pink lipstick, and the thin eyebrows. Further, there were several muscle models that showed the masculine body. It became apparent that most of the models we inspected were white and mostly portrayed the male body. This is consistent with the research on medical discourse and the dominant role of the male perspective in medical practice that we have read so far. It draws attention to the medical exclusion of the female body in medicine as well as the predominance of white people.

Afterwards, the staff showed us another room where the gynecology models were. Looking at the models, we discovered that they were mostly white with no variety of body sizes; they all appeared to have barely any body fat. How does this affect the way doctors view patients who are overweight or have different-colored skin? This prompts us to question the potency of teaching medicine students with a focus on one type of body: the fit white male. When developing a new method of instructing medical students, it is crucial that we take this issue into account. Of all, since every member of our project is a white scholar, we must be transparent as well. We can, however, critically examine and prioritize diversity and inclusion in our project if we are aware of this. It follows that the (re)introduction of DIY-creating tools can help deconstruct the power structure, but most importantly, ongoing reflection about knowledge and power production is required.

In addition, we were told how pricey certain models are. This is an important component for our own project, as we are striving to create a more accessible possibility for learning medicine without spending a huge amount of money. However, it became evident from the student interviews that they had little to no concern about the cost of the models. Moreover, they demonstrated their trust in the university’s realistic-looking models. Similarly, it became clear that they did not seem to question the production of medical knowledge but were concerned with the efficiency with which they could learn such knowledge and skill. Even though it was only a short interview with only a couple of students, we learned a lot. We presented them our concept for an online platform with a database of DIYs to learn medical knowledge and practice skills. They agreed that for learning anatomy, DIYs would be helpful. However, the highlighted that the material’s availability and cost, as well as the time required to create it, are crucial factors. The display of these variables is therefore essential for our database since it must be affordable, accessible, and time-efficient. Accuracy was a priority for the students as well.

One student illustrated: “I wouldn’t know how to do the DIY models by myself to learn the skill; that is intimidating.” Accordingly, we realized that in order to reach students, the database must first be presented to educators, and the next step would be to reach the students. The approval of educators is therefore pivotal because it ensures that the student feels comfortable with what they create.