ABSTRACT
Imagination and creativity have an important part to play in helping healthcare professionals to understand, support and treat patients. The phrase 'seeing is believing' can equally be changed to 'believing is seeing', as two people may look at the same object but see something quite different. Healthcare is enhanced if we value and celebrate the notion that ways of seeing the world are unique to each human being. Healthcare professionals who do not share the mother tongue of the human beings they are looking after may struggle with nuances of speech or even a basic understanding of what is being said. Healthcare professionals are frequent visitors to the pain and despair that may only touch patients occasionally in their lifetimes. Creativity is not the sole preserve of art. The scientist's imagination is a crucial part of exploration and discovery.
