Medical Humanities Commons^™

Medicine's Roots: Through The Banyan Trees, Emily E. Klosterman

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

I started residency before the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when we were able to see our patient’s faces without masks, give reassuring smiles, and sit closely while discussing a difficult diagnosis. Little did I know that in 2019, the way we practice would change overnight, as an unprecedented virus took hold. We could no longer see our patients’ faces, reassuring smiles were hidden by masks, and close conversations were held at a distance. Our homes became our claustrophobic havens, and the hospitals were saturated with patients.

Driven by a deep-rooted need to assist others, we continued onward. As life …

A Vista Of Kahana Bay, Haryashpal Bhullar

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

This is a picture of Kahana Bay in Honolulu, HI I took when I was visiting my friend stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center last year. Like me, he is a Psychiatry resident and I had not seen him in over a year, so meeting him was quite meaningful to me as we had so much more to talk about. Having this vista behind us while we climbed and shared stories made for one of the best hikes of my life. I often look at this photo and realize the freedom we had to fly to all sorts of beautiful …

Movement In Stillness, Shalini Chaliki

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

These images feature the Lower Antelope Canyon which was originally called Hasdestwazi, a Navajo word that means “spiral rock arches.” After hundreds of years, monsoons, winds, and flash floods eroded the slot canyon into the geological wonder that it is today. It enchants tourists and engulfs visitors as it flows around them in every direction. Just east of Page, Arizona, the massive sandstone formation is sacred to the Navajo Nation for its representation of Mother Nature’s many gifts and the passage to time; it is also a reminder that things are larger and greater than ones’ self. While these photos …

We’Re All On This Spaceship Earth, Nancy Si

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The photo features the geodesic sphere at Epcot, Disney World in Orlando, FL. Inside the dome, there was an iconic ride called “Spaceship Earth”, which has since been shut down for refurbishment. This photo was taken November 2019, approximately 6 months before it was shut down. Much like how the ride emphasized the progress that human civilization has made in the last several hundred years and hopes to make in years to come, the current pandemic has shown us how far we have come in the medicine and other STEM fields. We hope only to do better and be better …