Medical Humanities Commons^™

Balance, Nafisa Choudhury

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As the COVID-19 pandemic grew into a frightening monster to be reckoned with, medical professionals throughout the world had to address a question within themselves: where does the balance lie between our duty to heal and our personal obligations for our individual health and safety?

As personal protective equipment shortages, long work hours, and hospital overflow wreaked havoc on the medical systems nationwide, doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel were plunged into uncertainty and were almost wholly unsupported in this ethical dilemma. Our duty to treat and our obligation to treat the community around us does not often directly conflict …

Seesaws And Spheres, Samantha Sostorecz

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No abstract provided.

Above Water, Vania Arboleda

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After a trial and error period, I understood that balance is not about absolute control but of continuous inspiration.

ABOVE WATER represents my balancing act during my first year in medical school while going through the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been hard not to lose pieces of myself in these tumultuous times, especially when there is so much to learn and so little time. I turned to my loved ones to bring me light and joy. To be those shades of color that I had lost. I painted ABOVE WATER as a reminder of how I got here and why …

Eustress, Becky Li

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Medical school proved to be one of the most challenging times for me to find balance. This past year in clinical rotations is when I especially found myself teetering to an higher degree of stress as I found myself overthinking and questioning my competence. Now having overcome the peak of this challenge, this composition serves as a snapshot and reflection of one of the most challenging but rewarding times.

Teamwork In Medicine, Ananna Kazi

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This photograph demonstrates a group of medical students participating in a team building activity of stabilizing a balance board. A few of the students had their eyes closed while other helped them navigate their ways. This activity prompted the students to work as a team to complete the activity successfully and efficiently. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, this fun activity not only taught the students the importance of teamwork to have a balance at work, but also gave an opportunity to be emotionally balanced, away from work and studies.

A Balance Of Compassion: Fighting Inequality And Creating Access In Medicine, Ananna Kazi

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This article describes my passion for using compassion to fight inequality and creating access in medicine.

Balance And Baking, Idarabasi E. Akpan

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The piece is a personal perspective of how engaging in hobbies can help one find balance and peace. It is about discovering my love for baking and how baking has shaped my life as a person and a medical student. Baking puts me in a somewhat meditative state that grounds me and makes me feel connected to the world at large and to my needs in particular.

Balancing Medical School With Life, Katie Lamar

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A poem about the trials of work life balance in medical school.

The Tight Rope Walk Of A Medical Student, Bhargavi Madhu

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When I think of Balance, I thought of my life as a medical student. It is similar to a tight rope walk where we are walking the line of medical school, aspiring to become physicians while trying to balance school, a family life, hobbies and eventual work life. It is important to find the right balance in order to not face burn out, something that is seen all too often amongst medical professionals.

Restoring Balance, Daniel R. Villanueva Toby

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As a medical student who has received half of their education during the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to portray the internal struggle of medical providers in trying to care for the sick and disabled. A great deal is expected of doctors in this day and age. That stress of expectations versus the innate desire to help others led me to write this poem.

Pulling Out Of Afghanistan, Suzanne Riskin

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This piece was written on a casual day at work when there was not any particular event happening. I realized how much of an impact a decision made so far away from home could have on my personal growth as a medical educator.

Balance, In All Things, Justin S. Straughan

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This poem is a vent for the inherent frustration felt from trying to find a career in and bridge the transition between politics and medicine. It reflects a stubborn determination to not give in to critics' "never-enough-ism" while also trying to be open to improvement and not give in to pride nor cynicism.

Celebration Of A Milestone, Komal M. Patel

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A first-year osteopathic medical student, Harsh Patel, has dreamed of starting medical school for as long as he can remember. This is a photo of him at his White Coat ceremony at NSU.

Volume 4, Nova Southeastern University

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No abstract provided.

From Dean Elaine Wallace, Elaine M. Wallace

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No abstract provided.

Dr. Janet Lynn Roseman Halsband, Editor, Janet L. Roseman

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No abstract provided.

On Top Of The World, Elias Makhoul

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Elias Makhoul felt like he was on top of the world at his medical school’s white coat ceremony, where he was dressed in his white coat for the first time. His fellow classmates and he officially became recognized for becoming student physicians. More than that, it was also a call for celebration, as each of them has endured hardships and overcame numerous obstacles to be there that day. He took the MCAT three times, applied in two application cycles, and was rejected by over 60 schools. Now, he is studying in his second year at NSU-KPCOM. His white coat ceremony …

Girl On Piano Keys, Bhargavi Madhu

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Celebration is the loudest and greatest form of expressing honor and appreciation. The best way to show love and appreciation for life is through celebration! Girl on the Piano Keys was a painting I gifted to a friend on her birthday. She spent that day at a hospital recovering from an episode of sickle cell anemia. Despite the suffering she was undergoing due to the disease, she would always treat everyday like it was her birthday.

A Celebration Of Progress, Reena Patel

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No abstract provided.

Finding Will In Despair, Dhruti Hirani

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This essay is about the author's emotional journey as she discovered what celebration means to her.

Medicine In Spirituality, Ashesh Soni, Krunal Patel

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Modern day medicine places a major emphasis on appreciating spirituality. A patient’s cultural and religious beliefs are integral when practicing medicine in order to provide the most humanistic care possible to patients. This photograph comes to show the exact opposite, medicine in spirituality. Medicine is an integral part of a medical professional's life and it serves as a major defining characteristic of an individual. Though viewed as objective and subjective, medicine and spirituality are all one.

Every Day Is Worth Celebrating, Sundeep Gidugu

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Sundeep Gidugu enjoys writing about his life experiences and opinions from the mindset of a medical and public health student.

Hope For The Future, Suzanne Riskin

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This was the first Physical Diagnosis I group for the first semester at a new medical school in Clearwater, Florida. The students far exceeded my expectations and my thoughts when they wanted me to pose as their patient was how much better each community will be when they graduate and join the ranks of community healers. They worked hard and always wanted to do it better each day.

-Dr. Riskin

Loss, Suzanne Riskin

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No abstract provided.

Thank You, Krunal Patel

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The mission of medicine is to promote health and save lives. Unfortunately, one’s actions in the medical field may sometimes never be enough to revitalize a patient. From my experience, the magnitude of the loss of a patient's life will never be fully appreciated until witnessed first-hand. This poem serves to illuminate one of the sad truths about medicine and provides inspiration for medical professionals to continue to promote humanity and appreciate the true value of life.

A Celebration, Angel Mauricio Marquez

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What began as an image became a story. Angel Mauricio Marquez pictured hands raised into the air, basking in the moment and enjoying the little victories. Angel wanted to talk about a celebration yet not portray it as an isolated event. He didn't want to show happiness in a bubble, He wanted the truth behind it. He wanted to talk about the things that we fight the hardest for and the moments we often believed we were inches from quitting but then didn't. For Angel, these are the reasons we celebrate.

Celebration Of Pride, Bryce Sebade

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No abstract provided.

Saturn V - Kennedy Space Center, Komal M. Patel, Harsh M. Patel

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Saturn V is the rocket that took the first men to the moon.

Future Engineer, Komal M. Patel, Harsh M. Patel

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Komal Patel is a recent mechanical engineer graduate. The photograph is of Juhi Patel at her graduation.

Strawberry Festival - Plant City, 2019, Komal M. Patel, Harsh M. Patel

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Strawberry Festival