The Physician as Artist: Dr. Michael Yafi on Music, Painting, and Healing

Michael Yafi, MD, MHA, brings together a remarkable range of talents as a pediatric endocrinologist, medical educator, and accomplished pianist. At McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, he serves as a division director and fellowship program director. Music, which he fondly associates with his “previous life,” continues to shape the way he approaches medicine and teaching.

In this episode of SoundPractice, Dr. Yafi joins host Mike Sacopulos to share the story of his journey from medical school in Damascus, Syria, to a career in pediatric endocrinology in Houston. Along the way, he offers an inspiring look at how music and visual art have become a meaningful part of his work in medicine.

• Founding Doctors in Recital, an annual charity concert
• Guiding a fellowship program through the national transition from three years of training to two
• Using works by Velázquez, Dalí, and Munch to teach medical students about diagnosis, empathy, and the history of disease

The conversation also highlights Dr. Yafi’s passion for the medical humanities and the chance encounter with a pianist-physician in Leeds, England, that led him from public health to pediatric endocrinology. It is an engaging exploration of the many ways art can deepen medicine, enrich education, and support healing.

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership.

https://doi.org/10.55834/sp.1434477669