The doctor said I had a grade three concussion with vestibular damage and medically could not attend class for a few days and to “avoid reading/studying” in hopes that the concussion would not worsen. I felt like I was going to go into hypertension as I processed what this meant: I was currently studying 24/7 to gear up for midterms and my anatomy and physiology lab practical but I would have to stop all studying for a week. Therefore, I was screwed for my lab practical which counts for 45% of my total class grade. The practical is a 100+ question exam with 1/5 answer choices always being “none of the above,” which for obvious reasons makes the most intimidating and challenging test, ever. The doctor could see the frustration clearly expressed on my face after he ordered me to “stop studying.” He elaborated that if I really needed to study, I could read for twenty minutes then rest my brain for at least an hour, but really I should try to avoid academics completely for at least a week.

The next few days were spent curled up in the dark with a constant headache and occasional vomiting from how severe the vestibular (equilibrium) damage was, but I eventually found my way back to the library and was eager to immerse myself in my academics again. My friend met me there and we each cracked our books open to read about the bones and their markings. I quickly realized that I could not read yet because everything went sideways after a few seconds and after just minutes I forgot whatever I had managed to read. My friend kindly offered to read out-loud for both of us, which helped but I was still slurring my speech and confusing some of my words when she quizzed me over the material. Almost each time I’d attempt to say what I was thinking, a totally different word would come out of my mouth. I laughed off the frustration by making a A&P joke saying, “wow, my brain is so damaged that even my Brocca’s area is not working today so I’ll just point to things instead.” My friend picked up on my joke and said my pointing better be very specific. She then asked me where the femur is located. Still going with the joke, I picked up a pen and pointed to my thigh to show I knew where that bone was located. She then asked where the medial epicondyle of the femur was located, and continuing the joke, I drew the femur bone on my own body. I then labeled where the medial epicondyle was. About forty questions later my body was covered with pen-drawn bones and each labeled with their markings. I unknowingly used a permeant marker so it took near two days for the ink to finally wash off. During those two days, I got to fully understand the importance of anatomical position as I saw my labeled body move throughout the day. For instance, the two bones in the forearm, ulna and radius, will cross over each other at certain times so anatomical position is the most neutral position the body can be in, which is why anatomical position is always assumed when referring to the human body.

The ink started to fade but I still had to learn the facial/skull bones and obviously, I could not learn them the same way.  I did want to draw them somehow, as I noticed that it was easier for me to “study” by drawing bones as opposed to reading about them. I decided to draw what I felt was the most complicated area of the skull, which is the small bones that make up the orbital and nasal area. I then painted each individual bone with bright acrylic paint and directly labeled each bone in white lettering. I did a counter piece of the opposite side but left it in pencil so it appeared black and white because the bones looked very different when they were not color coded. I hung these paintings up on my wall, adjacent to each other, and found myself subconsciously learning them because of how often I saw them.

While my classmates were opening books and taking out pens, I was unwrapping a canvas and taking out paint brushes to study for the practical. The more paintings I made, the more I felt prepared for my practical. I even got excited to take the practical, which made me wonder how concussed I really was: I was excited to take one of the hardest test of the semester which 40% of my class was expected to fail. I held onto that excitement and paired it with a positive mental attitude as I walked into the very intimating practical. I told myself “you’ve got this Cat” as I walked over to the first station. During the practical I knew the answer without even having to look at the options because the anatomical structures I painted were so ingrained after paying such detailed attention to them.

When the results came out, I had to triple check my score to be certain I read it correctly because I felt there was no way possible I did that well. I earned a 98%, the highest score out of all the classes. I was stunned that my determination to stay committed to academics payed off so well and thrilled that my deep passion for art could be intertwined with my love of learning all things medically related to the human body. I genuinely love learning but to be able to learn in a manner that I am passionate and excited about is an entirely new experience.

I continue to teach myself anatomy and physiology (along with always keeping that positive attitude) through arts and crafts and have started tutoring A&P as well. Last week I brought play-dough to tutoring and made a myofibril, which is the tiny part in your muscle that is responsible for its’ ability to contract. I laid the myofibril on-top of a notecard and made it a 3-D diagram by drawing labels that pointed to certain structures on it. This process of making diagrams 3-D with playdough/clay is beneficial because you really pay attention to the anatomical structuring. By leaning in a “fun” and detailed manner that information is more likely to be stored in your long-term memory. If you are a visual or tactical learner, then learning in creative ways are the best way to learn based on how your brain interprets information.

Understanding the anatomy in detail enables you to quickly learn and better understand the physiology and allows you to make connections that might otherwise be overlooked. This artistic method of learning A&P has allowed me to easily make these mental connections and fully comprehend the material instead of just learning it well enough to pass an exam.

Catherine Wynns is a sophomore at Kennesaw State University, gearing up to apply to their BSRN nursing program. She then plans to attend medical school and hopes to one day work in a trauma unit.