Graphic Design and Medicine Converge with Patient Safety Book Collaboration
OK To Proceed? Patient safety book features collaborative efforts of School of Visual Arts professor and BU School of Medicine team
April 2019 | by Daniella Weiss (COM’19)
In the expansive world of medical research, a particular subject caught the attention of the Department of Anesthesiology team within the BU School of Medicine. In an unusual pairing with the BU College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts, colleagues from each field fused their diverse talents to collaborate on an impactful educational resource.
The team at BUSM recognized the need to tackle one important issue: medical error as the third leading cause of death in the United States. Diving into how they could best illuminate the topic, the concept of OK To Proceed? was brought to life. Taking shape as a not-for-profit publication, OK To Proceed? is a book created to expand on the topic of patient safety in a way that is both visually and educationally engaging for all readers. The book is sponsored by Boston Medical Center, the largest safety net hospital in New England and all proceeds go to their safety initiatives.
Initially, the idea for creating OK To Proceed? was derived from the threatening danger of medical error in patient care. Robert Canelli, M.D., Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the BU School of Medicine, expanded on how, despite education on the topic, the death toll from medical error has not budged. Noticing large pitfalls in education curricula on this topic within other medical schools, the OK To Proceed? project addresses the need to educate current health care professionals and those in training programs in a more robust way.
The BUSM team sought out impressive design work to bring the necessary visual component of the book to life. They connected with Kristen Coogan, Associate Professor of Art in CFA School of Visual Arts, whose talents as a professional graphic designer and enthusiasm in covering the topic were an ideal match. “Graphic design is a medium that can link two disparate communities and/or [areas of] expertise. I’m so inspired when graphic design becomes a lens I can use to learn about new subject, in this case, patient safety,” she said.
Professor Coogan had previously met Rafael Ortega, M.D., Professor and Chair at the Department of Anesthesiology within the BU School of Medicine, serendipitously at a BU event, and what was an unexpected conversation catapulted an exciting 18-month long collaboration. Reflecting on the process, Coogan noted “it was clear from the onset that [this team] understood how well graphic design could elevate and elucidate their content, which was the foundation for a really harmonious collaboration.”
Coogan was eager to learn from the BUSM team and develop enough of an expertise to successfully visualize their ideas. “[Their] content carries so much meaning and depth,” she remarked. “It was a privilege to help shape such impactful content that could potentially improve the lives of an infinite number of people.” As an artist, this was also an excellent opportunity to use her wide-ranging artistic capabilities to add a tangible essence to the book. “My artistic approach was information-driven and all creative decisions hinged on how to shape and clarify content. I used color, typography, illustrations, and information graphics to help create hierarchy and tell a story about content,” explained Coogan.
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An award-winning multimedia laboratory within the BU Anesthesiology department produces videos to visually represent clinical processes or topics. The work from this lab has been featured in several prestigious medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, as well as medical text books. The team was eager to include the multimedia lab’s video technology in the printed book by using QR (quick response) codes. In each chapter of OK To Proceed? there is a narrated case study compounded with an animation illustrated by Coogan, and QR codes to illuminate a content summary of the chapter.
Canelli remarks that they strove to create more than just a book, but rather a detailed toolkit, which the arts component perfectly tied together with multimedia components and graphics. “Kristen was able to bring a contemporary, engaging feel to the toolkit through her animations and editorial design,” reflects Canelli. “She was able to illustrate the concepts that we were attempting to portray in a way that was easily identifiable and understandable to a broad audience.”
This projects’ collaborators achieved their goal and more as the finished project took shape. The team of artists, educators, and medical professionals exceeded their own expectations of what OK To Proceed? could grow to be. “Using multimedia, concise chapters, and beautifully illustrated text, we hoped to be able to reach the entire spectrum of potential readers,” from manual readers flipping pages to digital learning audiences, reflected Canelli. The process of discovery at the intersection of an artist’s vision and medical professional’s tools enhanced the work of all collaborators on the project.
Learn more about OK To Proceed? at oktoproceed.com.