Medical Humanities Commons^™

An Exploration Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Usage Within The Vietnamese Community In Lincoln, Nebraska, Helen Duong

Honors Theses

Lincoln, Nebraska is home to over 5,000 Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, many of whom practice complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as a result of healing traditions passed down through family members. This thesis explores the use of CAM among the Vietnamese population of Lincoln. The study employs an analysis of the literature on CAM among Vietnamese populations and thematic analysis of interviews conducted with members of the Vietnamese community of Lincoln, NE. Interviews explore perceptions of healthcare quality and access within this community as well as investigate the link between CAM and allopathic (Western) medicine. Findings suggest that certain CAM …

She Whose Words Helped Me To See, Tara Mckenna

be Still

This paper is a reflection on the interconnectedness of teachers and physician healers. Still, it identifies lessons that physicians can learn from educators in our lives and the importance of integrating these tools into how we teach patients about medicine.

A Physician's Most Important Teachers, Rachel Pray

be Still

I hope to never lose sight of the reasons why I became a physician: to make deep, real connections with patients while they may be going through one of the worst or most uncertain time of their lives - offering comfort and expertise to ease their worries - and to assist them in becoming the best, healthiest, happiest versions of themselves. Remembering my "why" has helped me overcome the struggles and trials of medical school, and I will continue to hold it close to me throughout my medical career.

Learning From The Best!, Michelle N. Won

be Still

Thank you to all the NSU preceptors of Punta Gorda, Florida.

The Art Of Teaching In Medicine, Mariam Dar

be Still

A reflection on the aspects and importance of teaching in medicine.

Mommy, Me, And We: Why Black Mothers Have Turned To Doulas, Janessa Harris

Crossings: Swarthmore Undergraduate Feminist Research Journal

Maternal mortality mates have disproportionately affected black mothers for far too long due to the lack of value that black bodies hold in medical spaces. Because of this concerns voiced by black people are often disregarded and ignored until the very last minute. But what if this was changed? This paper will focus on how black mothers have worked against Western medical systems that silence our voices, but instead turn to doulas who work to make these mothers feel seen, heard, and cared for. Through this, we make birthing a careful and collective effort to turn Mommy&Me to Mommy&We.

On Conflict, Brenden Huynh

be Still

Conflict

In the past, I’ve always been one to avoid conflict. Conflict always had a negative connotation in my mind. I did whatever I could to avoid it. Because of my aversion to conflict, I have had to compromise my time and my efforts in numerous situations. I’ve held my tongue to prevent problems; but sometimes, this would lead to even more. This has affected me all my life, whether its a friend who said something I wasn’t fond of or a waitress that messed up my order, I almost never said anything simply to avoid conflict. Last year, I …

The Power Of Conflict Or Rhetoric And Poetry, Suzanne Riskin

be Still

I am grateful for the opportunity to write this piece, share my thoughts and give a moment of gratitude for the grace that medical students show to others, their attending physicians, patients and most importantly themselves Effective writing, speaking, and expression is easily born from a struggle with others. Our own internal battles emote themselves as prolific poetry.

This piece was inspired by the quote by Yeats.

Medicine And Motherhood: The Silent Loads, Gehan A. Pendlebury

be Still

This poem articulates the challenging and often misunderstood experience of being a mother in medical school It describes a silent load that often takes a toll on mothers in medicine It describes the feeling of simultaneously being pulled in opposing directions, the pain of missing on special family moments and events The poem offers hope and solidarity for mothers who are enduring this unique experience.

The Power In Learning From Others, Samantha Sostorecz

be Still

No abstract provided.

Medicine Is Humbling, Victoria E. Coutin

be Still

As I near the last couple of months of third-year clinical rotations in medical school, this short letter represents my own reflection on the experiences this year that have shaped me.

During your third year of medical school, every month you may find yourself in a completely new environment. These were some of the thoughts that kept me grounded and helped me better integrate myself into each of these new environments.

Wounded Healer: A Story Of Resilience Through Adversity, Amole Khadilkar

Survive & Thrive: A Journal for Medical Humanities and Narrative as Medicine

This is an account of the cascading losses I suffered after a tragic suicide attempt and how I emerged stronger and more resilient in the face of those adversities. It is a story of courage, perseverance and hope.

Narrative Authority: A Narrative-Based Multicultural Ethics To Overcome Western Biases In The Current Models Of Care, Fahmida Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technological advances and globalization are transforming healthcare dramatically. But unfortunately, current medical practices remain blind to their multicultural patients’ varied worldviews and norms, especially in the West. As a result, patients often find themselves isolated, anxious, and resentful.

All the humanistic models in the current literature view the individual as a unique and autonomous being and, in turn, provide practices to access and recognize the patient’s personhood. These models—Narrative Medicine, Narrative Ethics, and Ethics of Care—attempt to catch sight of the individual, the person’s situation, and some semblance of the person’s story before diagnosing or offering prescriptions. However, all these …

A Survey To Highlight Areas Of Focus For Patient Care In Settings Utilizing Medical Interpretation, Azayzel Deregis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis recounts my personal experience working as a volunteer medical interpreter for the Language and Culture Resource Center at East Tennessee State University. The result of my time spent volunteering as a medical interpreter, shadowing professional medical interpreters, and witnessing patient-provider interactions during interpreted sessions was an inspiration to study medical interpretation further and delve into the challenges faced by patients who require medical interpreters. During my time researching this topic, I found that the United States is severely lacking in Spanish medical interpreters—with some healthcare facilities employing no medical interpreters—even though the size of the Hispanic population is …

Rhythm, Divy Mehra

be Still

While clinical medicine is an intellectual creative art form, surgery is a performance art form. The composure, precision, grace, focus, and command needed to execute a procedure to perfection is not so different from that which is needed to execute a musical performance. The parallels are magical.

Teamwork In Medicine, Ananna Kazi

be Still

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.

Pulling Out Of Afghanistan, Suzanne Riskin

be Still

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.

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

be Still

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

Medicine In Spirituality, Ashesh Soni, Krunal Patel

be Still

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.

Thank You, Krunal Patel

be Still

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.

The Medicinal Power Of Small Celebrations, Kristina Fritz

be Still

This personal essay provides a first-hand account of a patient and their family celebrating a change in perspective brought about by experiencing clinical studies/medicine. The author infers that celebrations throughout the medical journey could have a medicinal effect on their own for the patient and their families.

Post-Celebration Celebration, Katherine Taylor

be Still

"We experienced a lot in the NICU. It was very, very trying. Getting to the point where we could coordinate our bottle squeezes with the swallowing pattern of a newborn with a cleft palate was not something that we expected to have to do as new parents. Many parents were not able (either financially or perhaps mentally) to be there with their babies. That was even harder to see. But the nurses are there, doing the best that they can. And sometimes there are volunteers that come to hold and talk to the babies that are healthy enough. Childbirth is …

Disease Mongering: How Sickness Sells, Vanessa C. Iroegbulem

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

“Disease mongering” is the practice of widening diagnostic boundaries of an illness and promoting their public awareness to expand the markets for treatment and to increase profits. This tactic typically used by pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers, insurance companies, and even some doctors and patient groups, has become a great concern. Disease mongering has since increased in parallel with “medicalization,” which attempts to label normal human conditions as medical problems, thus becoming the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. This paper first seeks to examine how an increasing amount of life’s natural conditions and ailments are being seen …

The Gift Of A Stranger, Angel Mauricio Marquez

be Still

As we are taught in our physics classes, energy is neither created nor destroyed it is simply transferred. Whether that energy manifests itself as power to fuel an engine or as knowledge to fuel a life of passion and intimacies, the energy influences one in the same. I simply seek one thing out of life, that those who come into contact with my energy find themselves transformed in the subtlest of ways so that they may, in turn, inspire another so that the cycle continues on and on.

Refrigerate, Alay P. Nanavati

Akesis

I just wanted to share my experience of burnout since beginning medical school. Given how widespread and common burnout is in the medical field, I felt like there would be many people who could relate to my experience. If my experience could help or even comfort anyone by the fact that they are not alone in the feelings that arise from burnout, it would make this piece worth the effort of writing for me. If anything else, I hope any readers can enjoy reading about the experience of a brand new medical student.

Should Doctors Take Into Account Human Races? A Medical Ethics Approach, Gabriel Andrade

Journal of Health Ethics

Racial discrimination has some very harmful social effects. But, can discrimination in medicine lead to good outcomes? This is an emerging question in medical ethics. It is undoubtedly true that some individuals are more genetically prone to some diseases than others. But, we should not rush to judgment, and believe that race may be a good guide in order to discover what diseases an individual is more susceptible to. Illnesses such as sickle cell-anemia and Tay Sachs disease have long been thought to have a racial correspondence. This is in fact not true. There have also been attempts to prescribe …

The Medicine Of Middle Earth: An Examination Of The Parallels Between World War Medicine And Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, Anna Pfeiffer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

J.R.R. Tolkien’s pioneering work of fantasy fiction, The Lord of the Rings, was written in a period of twelve years, starting in 1937 during WWII and ending in 1949 a few years after the war ended. However, Tolkien’s experience with war began in 1915, when he entered combat in WWI as a young second lieutenant. Understandably, Tolkien’s war experiences have led many fans and scholars to question to what extent the World Wars influenced his works. In response to these queries Tolkien adamantly denied any connection, stating in the forward to the second edition of LOTR that “The real war …

Guided By Physicians: Pío Baroja's Intersection Between Literature And Medicine In El Árbol De La Ciencia, Emmett Koltun Dienstag

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project seeks to explore the thematic unity of Pío Baroja's medical experience with his literary work El árbol de la ciencia.

Unbroken, Masood Mohammed

be Still

Unbroken is a short, powerful poem describing some of the all too familiar difficulties that students and physicians face in the hospital and medical field as a whole.

Empty Metal Jacket: The Biopolitical Economy Of War And Medicine, Sandra Lee Trappen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Empty Metal Jacket: The Biopolitical Economy of War and Medicine undertakes study of how global conflict and violence shape the entire range of social production, from commodities and culture to social goods and social theory. The research presented in this work draws from cutting-edge theories in body and science studies, in addition to theories of affect and biopolitics to address how war became a problem solving paradigm in medicine. Combat casualties are shown to serve as a material nexus for medical knowledge production. Although the focus here is on medicine and medical innovation in particular, these developments are connected to …