More than 100 "students" attended Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine's first mini medical school this spring. The four-part event, Anatomy for Artists and Other Curious Sorts, gave members of the community a backstage pass to the medical school’s training facilities, including its anatomy laboratories. As an added feature, those with an artistic flair were encouraged to recreate what they learned through the artistic medium of their choice.

Drs. John McNamara (l) and George Steer, faculty members at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine answer participants' questions about how various organs work.
Drs. John McNamara (l) and George Steer, faculty members at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine answer participants' questions about how various organs work.
Rusty Rich with Virginia Prosthetics explains how artificial limbs work and how they are made.
Rusty Rich with Virginia Prosthetics explains how artificial limbs work and how they are made.
In the moulage workshop, students were able to create some pretty realistic looking wounds.
In the moulage workshop, students were able to create some pretty realistic looking wounds.

Participants gathered each evening for a keynote lecture and then dispersed into concurrent interactive sessions. The lectures included “Your Brain on Art,” by Ann Harvey, a research scientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute; “The Human Body: An Owner’s Manual,” by Dr. Saleem Ahmed, the school’s director of anatomical science; “The Human Form Through the History of Art,” by Jennifer Anderson, an assistant professor of art at Hollins University; and “Body of Evidence: What Happens When Things Go Awry?” by Dr. Carol Gilbert, an associate professor of surgery at the school.

Medical students Beth Calloway and Michael Gallagher demonstrate how a portable ultrasound machine works.
Medical students Beth Calloway and Michael Gallagher demonstrate how a portable ultrasound machine works.
Dr. Saleem Ahmed with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine gives the crowd a lesson in anatomy.
Dr. Saleem Ahmed with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine gives the crowd a lesson in anatomy.
Students intently listen to a presentation in one of the anatomy labs.
Students intently listen to a presentation in one of the anatomy labs.

After each evening’s lecture, participants rotated through six breakout stations. In addition to hands-on activities in the school’s anatomy laboratories, participants fabricated mock injuries, tried their hands at simple imaging using portable ultrasound equipment, and learned about the construction of prosthetic devices.

The school plans to offer several more mini medical schools in the future.

Opening presentations each evening covered topics such as how art affects our brains and basic anatomy with a twist.
Opening presentations each evening covered topics such as how art affects our brains and basic anatomy with a twist.
Artists among the group were encouraged to sketch or draw what they learned and experienced.
Artists among the group were encouraged to sketch or draw what they learned and experienced.
Jennifer Anderson, assistant professor of art at Hollins University, sketches a skeleton in one of the school's anatomy labs
Jennifer Anderson, assistant professor of art at Hollins University, sketches a skeleton in one of the school's anatomy labs. Anderson was also a presenter on the human form through the history of art for one of the evening sessions