Alexa Miller and the Merging of Art and Science

Today’s guest has one of the most interesting, thought-provoking, fascinating jobs we’ve ever heard of. 

All our lives, we’ve thought of art and medicine as two completely different pillars – one encourages us to think subjectively while the other is more objective and rational. 

But, artist-turned-medical educator Alexa Miller proved us so wrong. 

And we’re glad she did!

Most of us are in the business of movement. We help people figure out their bodies, improve their health, and even diagnose some basic physical conditions. 

And for us to do our jobs in the most effective way possible, Alexa’s unique way of combining art with medicine and diagnosis is game-changing. 

Alexa got started on this path over two decades ago, when she went to London to attend art school. She had always been passionate about understanding the human body and researching human resilience and her yearning to learn more about it led her to the Wellcome Trust, an incredible reserve of medical history and images in London. 

As she was studying the images, she was struck by how the medical text directed people to look at patients. 

As an artist, she was always encouraged to interpret, ponder upon her thoughts, and dissect the different emotions she felt about the works she created and studied. 

On the other hand, the medical text encouraged her to make quick decisions. She wasn’t allowed to mull over, dissect, or think critically about what she was seeing. 

The experience was so jarring, that it prompted her to consider something she’d never thought about before: 

Is it possible to improve medical observation and diagnostic skills through art?

And that question changed her life.

It led her to work with some of the most reputed medical schools and museums in the country; teaching medical learners how to transcend some of the dehumanizing aspects of the hospital culture and use the tools of artists and great diagnosticians to observe, listen to, and co-create health with their patients. 

In today’s episode, she’ll be sharing her knowledge so YOU can improve your own work with the human body through art. 

Here’s what you can expect from this one:

How Alexa’s own family history prompted her interest in the human body
Why she teaches entire classes around the concept of uncertainty
How she hopes to bring teamwork back into clinical practice
The dire consequences if uncertainty is handled poorly
How she helps physicians speak to their patients each other by getting them to rigorously analyze art
Why it’s important for those who work with human bodies to stop, step back, and think about their diagnosis from different angles
The implications of her teachings on public health

And more!

If you want to experience the human body from a refreshingly new perspective, this episode is for you. 

Once you’re done listening, find us on Instagram (@heymarvelous) and tell us the most important thing you learned from today’s episode!

RESOURCES

The Wellcome Trust

Power of Teamwork - Brian Goldman

Section 4

This Week’s Joy:

Alexa has been loving the process of building her garden, even getting 3,000 pounds of dirt delivered to her house for it!

This Week’s Hustle:

Jeni and Alexa met at a Section 4 class and both of them can’t recommend it enough! Section 4 is an online business school aiming to make top-tier business education accessible (and affordable!) to all. That means you feel like you’re sitting in a business class at Wharton with the best minds in the country.

The only difference?

It costs just $83 a month!

This podcast is brought to you by the Marvelous online teaching platform.

Marvelous is an easy-to-use platform that helps you build and sell your own courses memberships and live-streamed programs. Go from idea to open for business in just minutes. Unlike other startups, Marvelous was created by women for women. If you're looking for a simple, streamlined way to build and grow an online business. You can learn more at Marvelous.