Struggling to breathe, the patient is rushed to the emergency department. The emergency physician orders a chest X-ray, which rules out pneumonia and other chest-related diseases. Next, the patient undergoes an ultrasound to check for a clot in his legs and a CT scan to look for clots in his chest. The CT scan reveals a pulmonary embolism — a clot in the arteries sending blood to the lungs. He then goes to the interventional radiology suite, where physicians pinpoint and remove his clot.

“At this point, the patient has undergone four modalities of imaging: X-ray, ultrasound, CT and interventional radiology,” notes Khalid Shariff, Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s director of imaging services. “Thanks to the skill of practitioners and advances in technology, the patient is able to go home the same day he experienced what was previously a fatal condition.”

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The mixed media oil on canvas, entitled Zolofting, included a pill container, disassembled pill capsules and an MRI image. The accompanying description discussed how the anti-depressant Zoloft and therapy helped the artist overcome depression. A pencil drawing of a blue jay came with an explanation from the illustrator noting, “Being in this program has made me rethink how I define success and has presented me with various scenarios where I’ve had to find greater peace by letting go of the illusion of perfectionism.”

These were two of the pieces conceived and created by UCLA School of Nursing MSN students as part of their Mental Health, Mental Illness and Psychiatric Nursing course curriculum.

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