Banner image from Hippocrates Cafe. Photo credit: Avi Nahum, Regions
The Center for the Art of Medicine cultivates curiosity and creativity in medical education and practice.
Mission and Goals
The University of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for the Art of Medicine (CFAM) strives to cultivate creativity and to elevate the role of the arts and humanities in medical education and practice, in order to nurture curiosity and creativity, promote diversity, deepen empathy, develop professionalism, and foster resilience in physicians and physicians-in-training.
Programs and Projects
CFAM’s work is grounded in three signature programs:
- The Storytelling in Medicine Program
- Fisch Art of Medicine Student Awards
- Hippocrates Cafe Productions
In addition, CFAM engages in a variety of creative collaborations across the University and the broader community:
- Artistic Antidotes
- Art of Medicine Seminar Series
- Art & Medicine Medical Student interest group
- Medical school courses and curriculum integration
- MotionPoems collaboration
- Music in the Clinics
- Performing arts consultation and collaboration
It has been said that humans are the storytelling animal—that our ability to tell, hear, and share stories is integral to who we are. CFAM’s Storytelling in Medicine Program recognizes that stories are one of the most powerful ways for us to connect, empathize, and heal. The Storytelling in Medicine Program provides time, space, and techniques for those interested in becoming more effective storytellers.
Hippocrates Cafe started in 2009 as a live, one-hour show placing healthcare in context through story and song. Since its inception, there have been over 100 shows performed in eight states. CFAM recently expanded on this work by creating Reflections on the Pandemic in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television PBS, which was awarded a Regional Emmy in 2021.
The Fisch Art of Medicine Student Awards allow current University of Minnesota medical students to explore the arts, enriching the traditional medical school curriculum through creative expression.
CFAM is engaged with several cross-campus and community collaborative projects. Projects currently include Artistic Antidote, the Art of Medicine Seminar Series, collaboration with MotionPoems, Music in the Clinics, and performing arts collaborations.