Our Story | Medical School

Mission

The University of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for the Art of Medicine (CFAM) strives to elevate the role of the arts and humanities in medical education and clinical practice in order to nurture curiosity and creativity, promote diversity, deepen empathy, develop professionalism, and foster resilience in physicians and physicians-in-training. CFAM also engages in scholarship, interprofessional collaboration, and broader public discourse around the intersection of arts and medicine.

vision

The Center for the Art of Medicine aims to cultivate creativity in medical education and practice by supporting artistic endeavors, cultivating scholarship, and engaging the broader public in discourse around complex healthcare topics.

Ranee Ramaswamy in Art + Medicine: Healthy Aging

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Ranee Ramaswamy in Art + Medicine: Healthy Aging

Ranee Ramaswamy performs at Ragamala Dance Company studio in Art + Medicine: Healthy Aging(photo credit: Twin Cities Public Television)

3/2023 mmcgme photobooth

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3/2023 mmcgme photobooth

Medical residents and fellows attend the 2023 annual MMCGME + CFAM Resident/Fellow story slam event (photo credit: The Traveling Photo Booth)

Boraan Abdulkarim presents story at med student story slam

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Boraan Abdulkarim presents story at med student story slam

Medical student Boraan Abdulkarim shares her story at the 2023 annual medical student story slam (photo credit: Jack Alexander)

2023 REBIRTH show with Nocturnists

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2023 REBIRTH show with Nocturnists

End of show at REBIRTH, an evening of medical storytelling hosted in partnership with The Nocturnists podcast at the Parkway Theater (photo credit: Anna Botz)

Gaelynn Lea performs on violin

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Gaelynn Lea performs on violin

Musician Gaelynn Lea plays violin in Art + Medicine: Disability, Culture and Creativity (photo credit: Twin Cities Public Television)

Seitu Jones with Medicine and Arts students

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Seitu Jones with Medicine and Arts students

Artist Seitu Jones talks to medical students about his public art installation during Medicine and the Arts course (photo credit: Jon Hallberg)

2023 Fisch Welcome Event

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2023 Fisch Welcome Event

Medical students at the 2023 welcome event for Fisch Art of Medicine student awardees (photo credit: Jack Alexander)

CFAM's Story

The Center for the Art of Medicine (CFAM) is one of the Centers, Institutes, and Programs within the University of Minnesota Medical School. CFAM is led by a consortium of medical humanities practitioners, established in 2020 by Creative Director Dr. Jon Hallberg, Co-Directors Dr. Maren Olson and Dr. Ben Trappey, and Associate Director Dr. Anthony Williams. Program Manager Jennie Magner joined the team in 2021, and Dr. Tseganesh Selameab became an Associate Director in 2023.

CFAM sponsors a robust Storytelling in Medicine Program, hosting annual storytelling events and integrating reflective writing and medical storytelling into medical school curriculum. Hippocrates Cafe Productions is the creative force behind the two-time Emmy-award winning Twin Cities Public television series, Art + Medicine.

While CFAM’s work focuses primarily on medical students, resident physicians, and practicing physicians, there is also collaboration across the UMN's health sciences community through initiatives like the Community Arts @ Health Sciences program. The CFAM team is engaged in research on the impact of the humanities in medicine and continues to expand work across artistic mediums and healthcare disciplines.

The "art of medicine" with Creative Director, Dr. Jon Hallberg