Pediatric Anesthesiology is more than just plugging numbers into an equation. It is one of the few jobs in the medical field that needs character and a well-rounded individual. Some may argue that character traits like empathy, communication, and creativity are only gained when you learn in an environment involving the arts. My opinion is that you do not need the arts to gain these qualities necessary to become a good pediatric anesthesiologist.
Science is in our everyday lives and we can not avoid it or disturb the equilibrium that has already been created. Steven Pinker, the author of “Science is Not Your Enemy”, writes about how science is involved with everything we test, observe and hypothesize. “[Science] is, rather, indispensable in all areas of human concern, including politics, the arts and the search for meaning, purpose, and morality”. Science is unavoidably involved in everything surrounding our daily lives and already is at an equilibrium between emotion and knowledge. Scientists are human and it is impossible for them to take out the factor of emotion, they need to have a little bit of emotion for any type of study they are doing. This emotion comes from human interaction in school and the grit that caused them to become a scientist. All scientists have a drive of emotions that pushed them to where they are today. Not one becomes a scientist just to become a scientist, they all have a driving factor. It could be that they question theories or they want to better the environment or even understand why plants grow up instead of down into the ground. For me, I have wanted to become a pediatric anesthesiologist because of my experiences, the atmosphere and the tasks surrounding what a pediatric anesthesiologist is.
In the operating room, a pediatric anesthesiologist needs to find the equilibrium between knowing the correct amount of anesthesia to give to the patient but also has to be able to calm the patient with basic human characteristics. In Yo-Yo Ma’s essay “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy and Education” he introduces the idea of an equilibrium between two ideas. He states “Equilibrium occurs when the information from the edges is available at the core”. The pediatric anesthesiologist needs to be able to find the equilibrium between knowing the correct dosages of anesthesia to give patients but also double as a well-rounded individual. An anesthesiologist cannot choose one or the other but rather they have to find the correct balance of equilibrium between the two. Gaining the characteristics of a well-rounded individual is not going to be learned from an education in STEAM centered schools.
STEAM education places equal value in science, math, engineering, the arts and technology which, in my opinion, is not needed. Jonah Lehrer, the writer of “The Future of Science… Is Art?”, is a huge advocate for STEAM education. He writes that “Science needs the arts”. Science does not need the arts, rather, the arts need science. Creating pottery or painting pictures in school does not make you a better doctor or engineer. It could relieve stress for certain individuals but participating in any art classes is a hobby and a choice for most. For me, a stress reliever is playing with my dogs, staying active or even just hanging out with friends. Everyone is different so why place a label claiming that the arts are the only stress reliever in STEM education. Yo-Yo Ma writes “STEAM will help us get there by resolving the education problem. Kids will then go to school because it is a passion and a privilege, not a requirement”. Incorporating the arts into STEM education will only affect the children’s way of perception in their STEM courses. The arts are based on opinion and perception which goes directly against what STEM courses are trying to teach students. STEM education needs precision and accuracy along with being able to collect data and plug numbers into equations. Incorporating opinion and perception into these courses will only create the precision and accuracy that is needed in STEM to deteriorate. Yo-Yo Ma also argues his point that the arts teach empathy.
Empathy is a basic human trait that is learned from observing others. I cannot think of any human emotion that is directly taught to you. We get pictures of what happy and sad look like as young children to put a label on the types of emotions we could feel but we are never taught how to carry out these emotions. Yo-Yo Ma claims “Empathy comes when you understand something deeply through the arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections”. The arts do not teach you emotion. It will let you express your emotion through pictures, sculptures, and the visual arts but it will not teach you emotion. You learn emotions by interacting with others and observing other individuals reactions. Yo-Yo Ma writes, “The values behind arts integration – collaboration, flexible thinking, and discipline imagination – lead to the capacity to innovate”. These values are not just learned through art integration, they can also be learned through basic human interaction and grow from past experiences. You could learn any of these traits in a research lab collaboration with a colleague. You only need one other person to experience collaboration, flexible thinking, and disciplined imagination, not the arts.
The qualities of a good pediatric anesthesiologist are gained from human interaction and what you learn in medical school. These doctors need to create a stress-free environment while also doing their job of taking the pain away from children. You can not just focus on one or the other. Maintaining a good equilibrium between the two and not favoring one over the other is precisely what is taught in STEM education. All of today’s present doctors went through medical school with no art classes or STEAM education. From my interactions will anesthesiologist, they all turned out pretty amazing as well. They know what they are talking about when it comes to the correct dosages of anesthesia to give the patients but they also know how to make the patient and their families happy and relieve any stress they could be feeling. I believe that if STEAM education was incorporated into their medical school career, medical school would have a decrease in applicants, simply because you will not be getting the quality education for the money you are paying. The students will also have to focus on another set of classes when they should be focusing on how to better their medicine based knowledge. If schools are worried the students are becoming too antisocial or losing their emotion, they should create socials and gatherings to spread the ideas amongst one another. STEM education needs to stay science-based and will benefit without the incorporation for the arts to maintain the equilibrium that is already in place. The arts are not needed to create good qualities or emotions for a pediatric anesthesiologist.
Citations:
Greenwood, Beth. “What Kind of Personal Qualifications Does an Anesthesiologist Need?” Chron.com, 21 Nov. 2017, work.chron.com/kind-personal-qualifications-anesthesiologist-need-9023.html.
Lehrer, Jonah. Seed: The Future of Science Is Art? – Musician Author. 16 Jan. 2008, daniellevitin.com/levitinlab/printmedia/2008-The_Future-Seed_Magazine.pdf.
Ma, Yo-yo. “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education”. Emerging, third edition, 2016, pp. 257-261.
Pinker, Steven. “Science Is Not Your Enemy.” The New Republic, 7 Aug. 2013, newrepublic.com/article/114127/science-not-enemy-humanities.
