Humanity

As Robin T. Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, prepares to begin her term as ASCO president, she hopes to leverage one of the profession’s greatest resources — people.

The humanities, from music and painting to literature and poetry, offer limitless opportunities to grow as a professional and as an individual.

This current issue of Healio Rheumatology features a roundtable on “‘The Art of Medicine’: Physicians’ Artistic Pursuits Strengthen Empathy, Sharpen Skills,” with contributions from Ronan Kavanagh, MD; Iris Y. Navarro-Millan, MD; James Louie, MD; Ronald F. van Vollenhoven, MD, PhD; and myself. The topic is not new — and indeed it is old — but in my mind it is more relevant today than any other time in modern medicine.