The images above were taken as multiple exposure stroboscopic photographs in 1942 by Albanian photographer Gjon Mili. It illustrates a fencing competition with two fencers in various positions as they compete with one another.
In a TIME magazine article (Cosgrove, 2012) Mili’s images are said to “fiddle with moments, junctures, sequences, and in the process offer a playful commentary on the slippery relationship between mere mortals and the temporal — perhaps even the eternal.” In my opinion, Mili’s photographs show multiple fleeting moments, feelings and action coexisting in a single image. These images show movements which occur too quickly for the naked eye to truly appreciate them and by compiling them into a single image those movements are clearly visible to be admired and thought upon.
In my clinical practice I have met some truly remarkable people, each with their own life story, troubles and hardships. Throughout each day on placement, around 6 different people’s stories enter into my brain as they explain their situations to me – both medical and personal. To listen and absorb all these lives has become quite difficult due to only having a short fleeting moment with each patient. Each fleeting moment in Mili’s images depicts a different patient and, as a single image, it shows all their stories competing for an all-encompassing winning place in my brain. Each individual movement is important to gain skills in the fencer’s career as each individual patient’s involvement in my life will positively impact my learning and my ability to overcome these many thoughts. With all these different stories it is difficult to focus on one specific circumstance over the others and share the same level of compassion towards each patient. However I am fully aware each patient deserves to be treated the same so I have tried to give all my patients the same compassion towards their situations, which in the long run may result in compassion fatigue – at this current time I had not developed compassion fatigue so my professional performance has not been affected.
These images also depict the sport of fencing. Fencing is a nonviolent sport with no intent of causing physical harm on opponents. This is exactly what these thoughts are within my brain. They are not causing physical harm upon me however are still competing to win dominance of my thoughts by the end of the day. Each thought of a patient’s life is well positioned to compete with a fellow thought in order to gain that dominance much like the fencers are poised perfectly to compete with one another.
From these experiences, I have learnt to take a step back from my patients and mainly take in the most important aspect of their health condition or lives (eg. A TB patient who wants to walk her children to school without getting fatigued or a TKR who needs to walk up many stairs for work) rather than being overwhelmed by their whole life stories by keeping them floating around within me. In the quote above the word “eternal” is present, and as these images are eternal moments as are my patient’s circumstances and livelihoods. These people’s stories will forever “eternally” be with me, even as I continue out of my studies and new thoughts will enter into the fencing field within my brain and play out to gain dominance with even the oldest of thoughts. This, however, has not negatively affected my professional performance due to my ability to spend time holistically assessing and treating my patients – however after seeing all my patients for the day and reviewing my work with a clinician as the day ends, that is when all the stories start their competition for dominance. At the time of treating my patients these thoughts are subdued as I am putting my full concentration on my patient but as the day’s adrenaline wears off and I am “winding down”, that is when this piece of writing comes into play.
These stories and thoughts are not limited by time or space but rather by the impact those patients have had on my life. They are not limited by the fact that some of those patients have passed on or that others are returning to successful life. They have no boundaries; just as fencing and stroboscopic photography have no boundaries to what they can perform.
By Jessica Funston (3723381)
2019
References:
Cosgrove, B. (2012). https://time.com. Retrieved 22 August 2019, from https://time.com/3730221/its-about-time-classic-stroboscopic-photos/
PHOTO CREDITS: Mili, G. (1942). Fencing [B/W PRINT].
3 thoughts on “An Abundance of Stories”
wow Jesse, i have enjoyed reading your piece of writing from the start to the end. Your topic and image support your clinical experience, and i like the way you have explained your images. This is a very interesting text as your experience affects many of us in the clinical setting and sometimes we find ourselves overwhelmed by patients stories such that it affects our personal lives. i like the fact that you have given a good solution as to how to deal with such, however is it really possible to give the same compassion to each and every patient since they have different stories? although i i think taking a step back in patients lives and focussing on the important aspect of their condition is good but do you think we are treating the patient holistically by doing that? keeping in mind that although we able to identify important things for our patients, whats important to us may not be important to them and sometimes other aspects which we think are not a priority may be whats affecting our patients in not cooperating well or giving their all in our treatment sessions with them. Are there other ways which you think we can use to deal with such situations? Good job, Thank you very much
I love the the direction you went with this piece and how you used the image to describe your own inner thoughts. The images used compliment your post beautifully and the way you broke down the images into smaller aspects such as their movements and comparing them with how you were feeling is fantastic. However towards the end of the piece I would of loved to know how it affected your performance as a health professional. You do say how it could have affected you mentally, but were the thoughts in your head not changing your approach to the session after hearing their story.
Amazing job.
Hi Jess,
I enjoyed seeing how you were able to link the imagery of fencing along with the different stories and hardships that a patient experiences. Their backgrounds are not always noticeable at first and there always seems to be more to what meets the eye – as you depicted in your stroboscopic photograph. I found that to be a strong introduction that keeps the reader open minded about what you have to share.
I believe that having compassion can take it’s toll on a health care practitioner but it is the very same thing that helps you to listen intentively and find out what their most relevant functional problem might be – as you said, a TB patient walking their child to school. I too have spoken to some patients where there story may have become slightly emotionally overwhelming but in such instances, I find a great sense of respect for them as I begin to see their role and their need to fulfil that role. It could be that very same struggle that fuels them to become better and overcome their current condition.
Too much compassion can also create vulnerability within the therapist as you become more familiar with the patient but I would then suggest making use of a journal or speaking with someone to avoid any compassion fatigue, especially when dealing with 6 patients a day on a personal basis. I also appreciated the way in which you described fencing as a nonviolent sport and then showed the similarity in which they dominating your thoughts without causing any physical harm to you. I would suggest meditation to perhaps help clear and filter your thoughts at the end of an eventful day.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed your piece and your insight towards managing and treating a patients
– Mashardo Esbend