Circle of Life
Screams. Tears. Despair. / A sense of sadness in the atmosphere.
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Contributing Writer
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Kavita is a first year medical student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, OH class of 2025. In 2017, she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences She enjoys exercising, cooking and reading in her free time. After graduating medical school, Kavita would like to pursue a career in emergency medicine or anesthesiology.
Uvalde
Uvalde / I hear the cries of children as they play at the school across the street / They are joyful and exuberant as they play in the Texas heat / unaware of the fear that will soon be unleashed
A Clinical Outing
The hospital room is / fair, square, sterile — / by its vapid / medical posters / and lusterless hospital tools.
The Worth of the Humanities
Ruchica Chandnani, Class of 2024 at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, contributes this poem as an in-Training writer and current managing editor of the publication since 2021.
Relief
Tears for the dead, tears for the living / who persist in this world that is so unforgiving
Forgive Me
In my white coat, / I ask for forgiveness. / Forgive me, / to the weary homeless man
When Art and Medicine Collide (2022)
Nita Chen, MD, movement disorders fellow at the Normal Fixel Institute for Neurological Disease, contributes this graphic medicine piece as a former in-Training writer, editor, columnist and featured artist for our print book in-Training: Stories from Tomorrow’s Physicians, Volume 2.
The First Physical
General: / Patient is in NAD, / except for being awoken at 7 a.m. by someone he has never met
Our Visual Art Gallery
We put out this call for visual artwork several months ago, to gauge our communities’ interest and willingness to embrace a new medium of expression on our website. We asked artists to submit with their work an artist’s statement to reflect on what prompted their creating their work and how their art reflects on their experiences in medicine.
Don’t Be Afraid to Join Me in the Dark Abyss (2022)
This drawing depicts the stark contrast of a woman who is both strong, yet visibly vulnerable as her tears pour off the page. This piece was inspired by a patient who was admitted after an incidental finding of a lab abnormality, which forced her to stay in the hospital for four weeks. When she initially learned of her lab results, she was overwhelmed.
Open Heart (2022)
This work is about vulnerability and the feeling of being vulnerable. There is a special exposure to vulnerability for everyone who is taking part in healthcare systems, be it of course as a patient who potentially suffers restrictions in their physical and/or psychic integrity trough illness or also the caregivers who are under pressure to be attentive, know the right things, act and speak properly all the time.
Takotsubo: The Three of Swords (2022)
This painting, utilizing oil and acrylic paints, was made in the midst of studying for my ongoing classes and boards. There have been a couple diseases that have stuck with me throughout my studies. This disease is a deep-sea themed illustration of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, more commonly known as “broken heart syndrome.”
Managing Editor and Contributing Writer
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ruchica Chandnani is a third year medical student at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and a minor in Asian Languages and Culture. In her spare time, she likes watching cartoons and anime, writing, painting, eating, and traveling (esp. solo traveling). Presently, Ruchica is interested in pursuing Psychiatry, Neurology, and/or Anesthesiology and hopes to become an advocate for victims of trauma.