Sapana Adhikari, MD, isn’t just an Emergency Medicine physician at Advocate Health in Charlotte, NC, she’s an artist and healer in every sense of the word.
Throughout her 20-plus years of clinical practice, she has been illustrating images of anatomy and medical diagnoses for her patients---first on paper towels and whiteboards, then on copier paper and finally more formally in her book, Diagnosketch: A Visual Guide to Medical Diagnosis for the Non-Medical Audience.
Dr. Adhikari uses medical illustrations in her emergency medicine practice to help patients understand their diagnoses, bridging the gap between healthcare professionals and the non-medical population. Her approach emphasizes the role of art in improving healthcare literacy and fostering empathy in medicine.
She hopes that incorporating a simple graphic visual in real-time at the bedside may help improve healthcare literacy for the non-medical population.
As an ER physician and mother of three children, Dr. Adhikari is no stranger to the chaos and high-stakes decisions that come with acute medical care. Yet, despite the adrenaline rush of life-or-death decisions which inspire her oil paintings, she finds moments of stillness and reflection that fuel her creativity.
“My experiences stay in my mind at all hours of the day: at 2 AM when I wake up to get a glass of water or when I am on vacation,” she says. “These rich interactions occupy my mind for weeks, months, and years and greatly influence my work.”
Her experience in medical school at the Boston University School of Medicine and residency at Boston Medical Center and exploring the psychological and emotional aspects of being a physician – have been a hallmark of her oil paintings which have found large audiences. Her artistic contributions have been showcased in esteemed spaces such as The National Academy of Medicine, Columbia University’s Intima: The Journal of Narrative Medicine, and Duke University's Frederic Jameson Gallery. Her artwork was featured in the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s 2024 Humanism Summit. Her work can be found on her website.
The Artist’s Way: MD Teaches the Art of Medicine
In addition to her role on the frontlines of emergency care, Dr. Adhikari is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.
For the last two years, she has co-taught the principles of Narrative Medicine, reflective writing and close listening, to third year med students through a Medical Humanities’ quarterly workshops. The course marries medicine and the humanities to inspire med students to reflect on the human side of medicine. She’s teamed up with Kimmery Martin, MD an emergency medicine doctor whose works of medical fiction have been praised by The Harvard Crimson, People, Newsweek and The New York Times. The duo are missioned to introduce future doctors to the broad and varied elements of art, literature, empathy and advocacy – all framed by their unique backgrounds and intriguing combination of skills.
“I’m trying to encourage the next generation of doctors to bring their interiority and creative sides to the profession,” she says. “I want them to think out of the box.”
– Dr. Sapana Adhikari, MD
Painting a Prescription for Healthcare Advocacy
Dr. Adhikari’s journey as a physician, artist, and social entrepreneur reflects a powerful intersection of medicine, creativity, and global impact. A Nepali-American physician, her commitment to sharing the human experience extends beyond the hospital and the canvas.
As the founder of Smartketi, a non-profit organization focused on women’s empowerment and sustainable development in rural Nepal, Dr. Adhikari has worked to create self-sustaining businesses that foster economic and social change. Her initiatives include the Smartbakery, which provides nutritious food to schoolchildren while offering employment to local women, and Smartbracelet, which creates opportunities for entrepreneurship in underserved communities.
Dr. Adhikari’s work was recognized with a $15,000 entrepreneurship award from Tufts University for her team’s innovative solutions to nutritional challenges in Nepal. Her passion for empowering women and creating sustainable businesses in rural areas is informed by her deep connection to her parents' homeland and her long-standing commitment to global health.
Also outside of the hospital walls she has created a grassroots medical humanities group with more than 105 physicians and nurses in Charlotte, NC where she lives. The group has met consistently every five weeks for the last 10 years.
“We are here to discuss issues we don’t talk about in the workplace, and to support each other,” she says.
In her own words, Dr. Adhikari’s mission is simple yet profound: “I want my work to impact people at every level—"from the patient in the ER who understands their diagnosis better, to my students who incorporate humanism into their future careers, and to the women in Nepal who learn to thrive through entrepreneurship."
Narrative Mindworks Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Heading to the art store for new paintbrushes and Japanese pens, grabbing lunch at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, listening to the ‘How I Built This’ podcast while spending an afternoon in my basement art studio, putting my thoughts onto canvas.
Which living person do you most admire?
Michelle Obama
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A patient once told me she'd had gastritis for years but didn’t really understand what that meant until I sketched it out for her.
Who are your favorite writers?
Danielle Ofri, Khaled Hosseini, Abraham Verghese, Lisa See, Henry Marsh
Describe yourself in six words.
Creative, enthusiastic, disciplined, loyal, adventurous, positive
6.. What are you most grateful for?
My parents. My dad, a physician, encouraged me to go into medicine, while my mom nurtured my artistic side. Thanks to their support, I've blended both into an immensely satisfying career.
7. What’s next on your bucket list?
Take a class in stand-up comedy or salsa dancing.
