Personal Protective
"The hard choice of putting science first, then family has been felt by many and in different ways. But being a mother has made the responsibility of being a physician in this time, feel more acute. Having to restrict access to a newborn from their families and sometimes their parents, weighs heavy...everyday. My hope is that our hearts are seen, and that the families we serve know we will battle for their loved ones, everyday....even when it breaks us."
Physician Portrait Project
Creating A Visual History
In partnership with the Physician Moms Group (PMG), artist Kelly Marshall documents the sacrifices made by female-identifying physicians during the COVID-19 health crisis. For many of us, the anguish and loss of this pandemic remain in the shadows—numbers published on the news. But behind the scenes, healthcare workers are witnessing extraordinary tragedy every day, all while working long hours, under enormous pressure, and in perilous conditions.
Personal Protective brings focus to the faces and stories of the women who act as both healers and witnesses. As a visual history of the COVID-19 crisis, the Project extends Marshall’s previous portraits of her sister-in-law over six days in a hospital emergency room. These paintings were motivated by Marshall’s response to her sister-in-law’s stories, and her shock at the scale of loss and labor facing healthcare workers.
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Physician and Mother
In partnership with the PMG, we have created The Physician Portrait Project. The purpose of this project is to depict female-identifying physicians as they are, to give visibility to the sacrifices being made on behalf of our national/global public health during this time of polarization of our medical community, to create and document a visual history of our global crisis through the faces of healers. Why only women? The roles of care, not just for patients, but for kids, parents, and community, are engendered and most often fall heavily, invisibly, on women.
Physician Moms Group
PMG is over 115,000 members strong and its membership spans across 100 countries.
Throughout the last 6 years, there have been many educational campaigns and stories shared within the community that have helped thousands of parents.
Upon selection, participating physicians will be given a follow-up interview to formally document their reflections. All images, identifying information, and stories will be coordinated with participants for review/approval prior to publication.
