Yoko Kiyoi
Bridging Medical Humanities and DEI: Art-Based Approaches for Inclusive Healthcare Education
Yoko Kiyoi
Washington University in St. Louis
yokokiyoi@gmail.com
Somalee Banerjee
Kaiser Permanente
Over the past decade, I have witnessed how the arts spark meaningful conversations and foster connection, particularly in education. Since 2019, I have collaborated with Dr. Somalee Banerjee, an associate physician and medical educator at Kaiser Permanente, to design and facilitate workshops in medical humanities. These workshops use art observation to teach healthcare professionals critical skills such as introspection, empathy, and cultural competency. Recognizing a significant gap in how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles are addressed in medical humanities, we began integrating these principles into our workshops. Through curated visual narratives and cultural symbols, participants are encouraged to reflect on their personal biases, explore equity in healthcare, and consider the broader implications of representation. Our shared goal is to create spaces where participants feel empowered to address systemic inequities while building the skills necessary for inclusive, patient-centered care. Although this work is still in its early stages, early feedback from participants has been promising. Many have expressed a renewed awareness of how cultural perspectives shape their understanding of care and equity. This aligns with our aspiration to offer a replicable framework that can foster inclusivity across diverse healthcare systems and academic environments. This poster will present the methodologies, design, and initial findings of our workshops, offering attendees insights into how art-based education can bridge medical humanities and DEI. Through participant feedback, visual examples, and reflections on our process, the poster will illustrate the potential of this interdisciplinary approach to create transformative change in healthcare education. We hope this work sparks broader discussions on how medical humanities can address systemic inequities while cultivating greater empathy and cultural competency among healthcare professionals.
BIOGRAPHIES
Yoko Kiyoi is an independent art educator with over a decade of experience designing innovative and inclusive learning programs. She also serves as a program/project coordinator at the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her work bridges art education and healthcare, leveraging creative methods to address systemic inequities and foster cultural competency. Yoko’s passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) began in the arts, where she created programs emphasizing equity and connection through creative expression. Over time, this commitment evolved into exploring the transformative potential of integrating DEI into medical humanities and healthcare education. Since 2019, Yoko has collaborated with Dr. Somalee Banerjee, an artist and internal medicine physician based in Oakland, California. Dr. Banerjee combines her clinical expertise with a studio practice that explores health and disease through anatomical imagery adorned with embellishments inspired by South Asian jewelry and textiles. Together, they have developed interdisciplinary workshops that use art observation to teach healthcare professionals empathy, introspection, and cultural competency. These workshops encourage participants to critically examine cultural narratives, reflect on personal biases, and foster equity in healthcare systems.
Dr. Banerjee holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and an MD from Washington University, where she and Yoko first met as undergraduate art students. Yoko later earned a master’s degree in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Their collaboration reflects a shared vision of how the intersection of art, medicine, and DEI can inspire meaningful systemic change. By integrating the power of creative expression with equity-focused education, they aim to reimagine healthcare as both inclusive and human-centered.