Medical Humanities Commons^™

Sad Swimmer, Janie Packer

be Still

Clay is such an exciting and responsive medium in which to work. Most often I only have a germ of an idea when I begin a project. I begin to build a form and before I know it, a wild dance has begun between me and the clay. It seems to know the steps and where we are headed, so I blithely follow along, taking my cues from a bend or an outcropping in the clay. Maybe it’s starting to look like a weeping woman, or a cat with a crown on its head. I just let the dance go …

The Mysterious Woman, Eno-Emem Okpokpo

be Still

While creating this image, I took these questions into account. What I love most about the process is that all of these questions can be answered by the viewers of this artwork. Based on our own experiences, we can come up with story lines for everything that we see. Therein lies the beauty of art. Its true meaning is left to the creative imagination of whomever appreciates it.

As healthcare professionals, we have to understand that each patient might be our “Mysterious Woman”. We have to appreciate the fact that our patients are emotional beings and not just a collection …

Looking From Within, Phillip Berges, Berges Alvarez

be Still

I made this with my father using a lateral chest X-ray superimposed under a quality control film. Together, we drew in the facial features, cut and pasted and enlarged the photographic image to produce this beautiful, strong assertive woman. We thought this image perfectly reflects the power, determination, and mystery contained within her gaze. Together and from within, women show their strength.

Untitled, Ben Sokoloff

be Still

In the outdated traditional view of women, spiders are associated with certain qualities and attributes. Beauty. Grace. Cunning. Homemakers. Skill with crafts. I tried to imagine these over-generalized features in another form that can be juxtaposed with this antiquated view. And I came up with the spider from the story of Arachne.

Root Of Everything, Christina Mangiaracina

be Still

This piece is entitled Root of Everything. A woman waters the soil like she nurtures her family and inspires our minds. She plants the seeds in our heads so we can explore and see paths blooming from the branch up north all the way to the branch down south. The female form is the nutrient of life.

The Bather, Paula Waziry

be Still

What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Sibyl, Paula Waziry

be Still

What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Birth Of Venus, Paula Waziry

be Still

What inspired me to work on the female form was the belief that our minds can create our reality. Most of my life I had suffered from morbid obesity - reaching at one point 288 lbs. Most likely my body weight reached higher numbers, but I refused to step on the scale after observing the dreaded 288! I was suffering from low self esteem, depression, severe low back pain, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and several other "itis" when I realized that the most powerful tool that I had available was my brain. If I was going to turn my life around, …

Theoria, Sanjay Rau, Ryan Kollar

Akesis

I heal through meditation.

Upon turning 13 years old, I began the practice of meditation under the tutelage of Hindu priests in Chennai, India. The expectation of this experience was to learn to clear out all distractions, focus intently on breathing and recite certain passages of Scripture.

At the time, meditation involved sitting cross-legged and reciting certain phrases 1008 times. The hot, muggy weather and mosquitos that plagued summers in Chennai made this task even harder. While difficult and seemingly purposeless at first, I began to appreciate and better understand the power that meditative practices provided in the following summer …

Standstill, Ianna Hondros-Mccarthy

Akesis

This is a short story about a girl getting in touch with life at a concert.

I Lost You To What Eludes Me, Akesis Anonymous Author

Akesis

I wrote this in memory of someone I lost in my life to cancer. My own healing process is still ongoing, and his loss was one major reason I decided to go into medicine. Hopefully through my journey in medicine I can help heal others, and in the process, find my own healing.

Helpless In Healing, Stephanie Braunthal

Akesis

Inspired by a frustrating patient interaction, this piece delves into the the role of the physician-patient relationship throughout the healing process.

From Falx To Fingertips: An Exercise In Mind-Body Awareness Through Acupuncture, Aye Mon Win

Akesis

This is a subjective account of an acupuncture treatment that includes a brief scientific exploration of its mechanisms of action. Additionally, connections are made between acupuncture and osteopathic manual manipulation, yoga, and meditation.

Flow, Jenifer Van Deusen

Akesis

Within us and around us flows the power to heal ~ open through song, image, poetry & breath.

Bones, Polyxeni Gudis

Akesis

I heal in the absence of words with the quiet scratching of charcoal on paper, and with the familiar texture of my thumb blending and erasing shadows with dust. I push my boundaries with new mediums, like watercolors. I experiment often and usually fail. I put my anger into harsh lines, I choose colors based on an emotion and I fill a canvas with the things I cannot say. I heal in brush strokes and in the contours of a piece that says what I want it to say without having to ever say a word.

Medium: Charcoal and pen …

Art And Medicine: A Collaborative Project Between Virginia Commonwealth University In Qatar And Weill Cornell Medicine In Qatar, Amy J. Andres, Thomas R. Himsworth, Alan Weber, Stephen Scott

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Four faculty researchers, two from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, and two from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar developed a one semester workshop-based course in Qatar exploring the connections between art and medicine in a contemporary context. Students (6 art / 6 medicine) were enrolled in the course. The course included presentations by clinicians, medical engineers, artists, computing engineers, an art historian, a graphic designer, a painter, and other experts from the fields of art, design, and medicine. To measure the student experience of interdisciplinarity, the faculty researchers employed a mixed methods approach involving psychometric tests and observational ethnography. Data …

The Physician’S Perspective On The Impact Of Interpretive Services On The Physician- Patient Relationship, Amrita Pandey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The basis of the physician-patient relationship relies heavily on communication. It has been known that conversation between physician and patient is important in both diagnosing and providing therapeutic support. However, according to the US Census Bureau twenty percent of the US population does not use English as their first language. These residents face language barriers on a daily basis, including when they are being treated medically. The aim of this study was to research the physician’s perspective on the use of interpretive services and how it impacts the physician- patient relationship. The research consisted of surveying physicians who encounter patients …

Written On By Experience, Akesis Anonymous Author

Akesis

This poem is about a conversation I had with a friend about beginnings, and how any given experience has no intrinsic good or bad qualities, but rather holds whatever we imbibe it with.

What Is My Beginning?, Stephanie Braunthal

Akesis

I find that when we ask about beginnings, we are really asking about the present. How did a person come to be who he or she is today? As I try to answer this question about myself, I am finding it easier to express myself in diagrams (pen on scratch paper) than in words. Perhaps this is a product of being a medical student; or perhaps it is because beginnings are a complex amalgam of static forces and fluid experiences that cannot be expressed linearly through prose...Enjoy!

To Care Is To Treat, Himanshu Malhotra

Akesis

To Care is to Treat is a reflection of a few experiences from my second and third year that have inspired me to become a palliative care physician.

The Narrative Of My Childhood, Nihit N. Mehta

Akesis

I was a weak child from early on, never able to run or play as much as the other kids in my block. Each month I'd visit doctors, trying my best to recover from common colds and coughs. Luckily, all this changed as I matured and in a way I almost began living a "normal life".

However, when it came to deciding what I wanted to be as an adult, I remembered the sick kid I was and how my doctors were always there for me, helping me "find health." This made me realize that I too, could someday be …

The Descent Down The Step One Rabbit Hole, Katelyn A. Hanson

Akesis

At the start of my second year of medical school I was ecstatic to move away from the study of the normal, healthy human body and to begin to immerse myself in the complex mechanisms behind the pathophysiology of disease. I drew this illustration to connect aspects of my personality with the aspects of medicine I was most excited about exploring deeper. This image was drawn with permanent markers on the cover of a binder dedicated solely to preparing for the first part of the medical licensing exam; I looked at this drawing every day as I drove myself closer …

Laurie's Greenhouse, Elizabeth G. Mcandrew, Kelsey Albert

Akesis

Pottery by: Elizabeth McAndrew

Photography by: Kelsey Albert and Elizabeth McAndrew

Modeling: Laurie the Bird

Materials: Wheel thrown pottery - Cone 10 white clay and dipped glaze (cobalt blue and mossy green). Philodendron Heartleaf Plant. Laurie is a parrotlet, which is the second smallest species of parrot. Photo editing was done directly on the iPhone photo application.

This photo represents beginnings because it includes many elements of my life that I drew toward me in the year that I began my medical career. Living alone for the first time, I bought plants so that I wasn't the only living thing …

Beginnings, Nehal J. Shah

Akesis

The beginning of one thing signifies the end of another – for one to start, another must end. With that said, under karmic and Hindu belief, we are constantly in a cycle of beginnings, and endings, until we achieve “moksha” – true oneness with God. Furthermore, within each cycle, there are four stages of life that one hopes to go through, carrying out the ideal goals and progress of each existence. Therefore, this life ultimately is a new beginning to an old soul – a soul that has traveled and journeyed upon eons of time to find happiness, spirituality, completeness …

Beginnings: A Letter From The Editors, Akesis Editors

Akesis

The editors would like to welcome you to the inaugural issue of Akesis.

The Transformative And Healing Powers Of Compassion, Forgiveness, And Wonder, Anna C. Eriksson-Marty

Senior Theses

Since time immemorial, humankind has struggled to coexist peacefully together. As human beings, we strive on our relationships with each other and, yet, with actions of hatred and prejudice, we seem to consistently destroy those very relationships we value so deeply. Our current society is plagued by fear, which seems to run more rampant now – more than ever – with assistance of our rapidly evolving communication technology. The question must be asked, “How can we end this madness and heal ourselves into a kinder and more fulfilling future?” By providing up-to-date scientific research on the human emotions of compassion, …

“Inhumanly Beautiful”: The Aesthetics Of The Nineteenth-Century Deathbed Scene, Margo Masur

English Theses

Death today is hidden from our everyday lives so it cannot intermingle with the general public. So when a family member dies, their body becomes an object in need of disposal; no longer can they be recognized as the familiar person they once were. To witness death is to force individuals to confront the truths of human existence, and for most of us seeing such a sight would fill us with an emotion of disgust. Yet during the nineteenth century, the burden of care towards the sick or dying was shared by a community of family, neighbors, and friends; the …

Reproductive Rights In Latin America: A Case Study Of Guatemala And Nicaragua, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

A lack of access to contraceptives and legal abortion for women throughout the nations of Nicaragua and Guatemala creates critical health care problems. Moreover, rural and underprivileged women in Guatemala and Nicaragua are facing greater limitations to birth control access, demonstrating a classist aspect in the global struggle for female reproductive rights. Although some efforts have been made over the past half-century to initiate a dialogue on the failure of medical care in these nations to adequately address issues of maternal mortality and reproductive rights, the women's reproductive health movements of Nicaragua and Guatemala have struggled to reach an effective …

The Intersection Of Art And Medicine: Tanya Sheehan Breaks Down The Boundaries Between Disciplines, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

Tanya Sheehan arrived at Georgetown University intending to become a medical doctor. She aced her organic chemistry lab section, eventually was turned off by the rote memorization the program emphasized, and then discovered art history and film studies. "That changed everything," she said, "but I never forgot about science and medicine."

Know Your Status: Alleviating Stigma From The Hiv Positive Community Of San Luis Obispo California, Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza

Ethnic Studies

The purpose of this project is to alleviate stigma from the HIV community in San Luis Obispo, CA by creating an outreach program, “Know Your Status,” that raises awareness of HIV education and prevention. Research on HIV stigma and on ideologies for program development and implementation shows that HIV positive individuals face both internalized and externalized stigma. Program development and implementation can be effective by assessing and addressing the specific needs of those living within the community. This project includes the data needed for program development and implementation, collected through anonymous surveys from HIV positive community members, interviews with professionals …