Instagram for doctors the focus of live event at MUSC

I get to meet patients, such as Kristy Hokett. You see her in one of my photos with the words “Give Life” tattooed on her knuckles. She decided to get the tattoo when she saw the good that came from her aunt’s decision to donate her organs upon her death. A few years later, when her father tried to donate a kidney to his former colleague, Thomas House, but was not a good candidate, Kristy offered to step in. She wasn’t a good match, but it didn’t matter because now there’s a kidney chain program that works like a domino effect. She was able to give her kidney to another well-matched recipient, ensuring Thomas in turn, as part of the transplant chain,  received the kidney he needed. 

Why do you think it’s important for MUSC Health to participate in Figure 1?

We are proud that we’re among the first institutional accounts on Figure 1. Our faculty and staff, like Dr. Nadig, are already world-class educators. This is an interesting way to help them reach a global audience, and it’s a natural extension of their work. Figure 1 is like an Instagram for doctors. It helps to bring real-time case sharing to a huge audience and helps improve treatment for patients around the world. It’s a great way to share ideas and, of course, I love the visual part.

Are doctors the only ones who can use it?

No, but it is the primary audience for the app.

What do you like about being a medical photographer?

The patients are the variable that keeps me interested in this field. What separates this type of photography from landscape or commercial photography is knowing there is a person that will benefit, sometimes in a life-or-death situation, and a family that is depending on medical staff to care for their loved one. 

I have become emotionally invested in many of the cases I have followed and formed relationships with patients, physicians, medical staff and families that have lasted over 10 years. I have learned to respect the medical professionals as some of the most emotionally taxed and hardest-working people I have ever encountered. I have seen the emotional strain when parents have said goodbye to their child for maybe the last time as their child is taken into surgery or when patients are given a diagnosis that is going to change their lives. I can't help but imagine myself in that position and wonder how or if I could handle it. 

How do images shape health care? 

Medical images have always helped define and shape health care by giving people a look inside the human body—starting with the earliest illustrations used as teaching tools. Medical photography is just an extension or evolution of what teaching physicians have long been doing with medical illustrations, X-rays, CT scans, etc. The two biggest compliments I can receive are when a surgeon is impressed by an image I have taken during a surgery or when a lay person says, “Wow, you made something disgusting look actually beautiful.”

How can people tune in to tonight’s live event or view it later? 

During the live event, 10-12 preloaded  photos of a recent kidney transplant surgery at MUSC Health will drop one at a time. Dr. Nadig will be available virtually to answer questions from those in attendance. The transcript of the event will then be posted to the app.