​By Jill Kruse, D.O.

Artists and medical personnel both know the importance of art. The famous nurse Florence Nightingale once said, “Variety of form and brilliancy of color in the object presented to patients are an actual means to recovery.” Elaine Poggi, Founder of the Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals agrees and stated “The mood changes when our beautiful nature photos are placed on the walls, providing color, comfort, and hope to patients, caregivers, and loved ones.”

Before COVID, the walls of my exam rooms featured some of my favorite art. Each room had a different, deliberately chosen theme. One theme was photographs of the Grand Tetons and Canyon De Chelle taken by Ansel Adams. Canyon De Chelle is on the Navajo reservation where I did a rotation as a resident. Another room was filled with an Asian mural and photographs of my time in South Korea when I was a student ambassador for SDSU at their sister school in Taejon, South Korea. My third exam room had circus posters and pictures of Baraboo, Wisconsin, hometown of the Ringling Brothers, and the location where I did my residency training.

The art helped break the ice with patients and allowed me to share a special part of myself and my life with them. It also provided my patients with something to look at while waiting for me to come into the room. It gave us something to talk about other than their illness or why they came to the doctor that day. As part of the discussion, I learned about my patients’ travels, their love of photography, or memories of going to the circus as a child. Each picture was an opportunity to share a common bond. 

COVID forced those pictures off the walls and into storage. The rooms were stripped of anything extraneous that could potentially become contaminated. My exam room walls are now blank and sterile; the rooms seem a little colder and less inviting. There is less color and joy in the rooms. Without art, we tend to jump into the clinic visit topic without first connecting as people. I didn’t realize what a big difference the loss of art on the walls could make until it was gone. 

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen said “At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer: a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.” Photographer Prakash Ghai explained it much more succinctly when he stated, “Art heals both the creator and the viewer.” I miss my art and cannot wait until I can once again hang some healing on my exam room walls. 

Jill Kruse, D.O. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www.prairiedoc.org and follow Prairie Doc® on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming on Facebook and broadcast on SDPB most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central. 

By Jill Kruse, D.O.

This has been an exhausting year for moms. Last spring, we had no idea we would still be dealing with this pandemic a year later. It presented difficult decisions, such as in-person school or remote learning, how to work from home while caring for children, or how to pay the bills without work, when to let children visit their grandparents, what to do for birthdays and holidays. Regardless of the decision made, it seemed someone somewhere was judging our choice. But I want you to know, I see you every day doing the best you can. 
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To all the new moms, I see you when the OB floor was empty of friends and family to celebrate the new life you brought into the world. If you were COVID positive, I see you with your beaming smile behind a mask as you hold your new baby. 

Mothers of toddlers, I see you trying to keep little fingers out of mouths as you teach them to wash their hands. I see you attempting to be professional on a Zoom meeting with toddlers giggling and playing in the background.
I see you moms of elementary and middle school children as you took on the role of teacher to keep your kids learning during the shutdown. I see you search for answers to big questions from your children about when things will be “normal” again.

Mothers with high school children, I see you consoling your Juniors and Seniors who missed out on sports seasons, proms and graduation ceremonies that were altered, cut short, or cancelled. I see you advertising prom dresses for sale captioned “only worn once for pictures.” 

I see you moms of college age children, yes, they are still your babies, as they prepare to leave the nest for school or a job. This new world experience will not be the same as you remember, yet I see you helping to make the most of it. 

Grandmothers, I see you, too! You have two sets of babies to think about, your adult children and your grandchildren. I see you longing for their visits and hugs. And I see you when your family could not be with you in the hospital or nursing home.

Moms, I see you for the force of nature you are as you nurture your family through this pandemic. To quote A.A Milne, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.”

With much compassion and love, Tyler and Allie’s mom (a.k.a. Dr. Kruse).

Jill Kruse, D.O. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www.prairiedoc.org and follow Prairie Doc® on Facebook featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming on Facebook and broadcast on SDPB most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.