Art class may not seem relevant to a medical school curriculum at first glance, but take a deeper, analytical look, and you’ll find why Visual Thinking Strategies has found a place at University of Washington and Swedish Medical Center. It’s not art history, but observational skills that this training seeks to sharpen. The medical students and doctors look at photos and paintings and are taught to observe “objectively and critically, filtering out bias and assumptions that can cloud their perception.” There’s no proof that the class has long term impact for better diagnoses, but art is often beneficial for balancing out a scientific education.