After discovering my preferred learning styles, I realized that visual aids help me understand complex material quickly. I've always loved drawing, so I tend to create images that represent concepts to help me understand them better. I learned this very early in my academic journey.
Later, in a psychology class, I learned that studying in the same environment where exams would take place is a helpful way to prepare for them. This made me understand why it's important to use different types of visual aids while studying. For example, if you always learn about watermelons but only ever see the ones with red flesh, encountering a yellow-fleshed watermelon might make you uncertain.
In medicine, illustrations have been used for years to teach students, professionals, and patients. Just like with the watermelon example, using diverse representation in medical resources is crucial for exposing people to the reality of the diversity they would encounter in a health setting. This can help with early recognition of different conditions and make students feel more connected to the subject matter.
Overall, there are many areas in medical education that lack diversity and representation, and this is just one of them. Addressing this issue may help to improve the problem of health disparities.