Back to a Better Future
The School’s very first MD+ graduate is shaping her future as a psychiatrist by exploring her passion for psychiatry and history. Her subject? Patient care in 19th-century asylums.
How can a birdcage give us insight into what it was like to be in an asylum in the 1800s?
This is one of the questions Dr. Jelena Poleksic, MD’23, explored on her path to becoming Schulich Medicine’s first MD+ graduate – a first-of its-kind program that allows students to explore interests beyond traditional medical education while staying on track to obtain their MD.
“I am positive this experience will help me become a better clinician. One who will be able to use the lessons of the past to consider the best treatment for my patients in the future.”
—Dr. Jelena Poleksic, MD’23
As part of the program, Poleksic – an aspiring psychiatrist – took a year of academic leave to complete a master’s degree in history and philosophy of science at University College London, which was generously supported by a Chevening Scholarship.
She had long been intrigued by the history of medicine – specifically psychiatry – and believed delving deeper into her passion during her MD degree would help her become a better psychiatrist.
“I have always been interested in the lives of psychiatric patients: In addition to symptomatology and diagnosis, what did their day to day look like? What relationships did they form with other patients, staff members, even objects? It’s about understanding the patient – their needs, values, experiences – treating them with dignity and respect,” said Poleksic. “Engaging with history opens up conversations about past and present mental health care.”
A bird’s eye view
By exploring the images and objects found in asylums centuries ago, Poleksic learned how patients were treated. For example, while many are familiar with the harsh symbolism of a straitjacket, lesser-known objects in asylums, such as birds and birdcages, had rich meanings.
“I knew that the birdcage symbolized a patient’s entrapment within these institutions. But it was also perceived to hold significant therapeutic value in teaching patients the caretaking and social skills to facilitate their return to society,” said Poleksic. “Understanding this history can humanize the inner life of an asylum and challenge some of the stigmatization of psychiatry’s past and its patients.”
The work also raises issues relevant to psychiatric practice today, such as our understanding of restraint, patient identity, and the dynamics between patients and their care teams.
She believes her experience will prove invaluable when encountering similar cases in the future.
“I am positive this experience will help me become a better clinician. One who will be able to use the lessons of the past to consider the best treatment for my patients in the future.”
