Historical Reflections: The Medical Heritage Center Blog

Voices in Humanism

thoughts at 2:30am

My breath
Gets caught in my throat
It hurts to exhale

Each time
I think it’s okay
To let it out
To breathe
I come across
Another bit of news
Another life lost
Another cruelty
At the hands
Of our so-called protectors
Exposed

Each time
The hope
I’ve begun rebuilding
Comes tumbling down
And I wonder
If I will forever live in a world
Where I can’t comfortably
Breathe
Where I have to worry
About the safety of loved ones

Each time
They leave the house
Even if just to run
The most mundane of errands

Hafza Inshaar
Class of 2023

Voices in Humanism

Pandemic Passage

The light fades again.
Another day passes
as I, sheltered in place, question:
What is the difference
between today and tomorrow?
How can I be sure
that winter has passed into spring?

The light shines again.
Another day arrives
as I open the door to see
that the trees have grown leaves.
Bright, green leaves!
Now I can sleep tonight,
knowing, without a doubt,
that winter has passed into spring.

Nick Yoo
Medical Student, Class of 2023
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Voices in Humanism

“This photo is of a tree peony below my kitchen window.
It is special because it blooms early and it was given to me by a friend.
It has survived against all odds.”

Eileen Mehl Boelsckevy
Associate Director, Medical Education, Retired
2015 Distinguished Staff Award from The Ohio State University

Voices in Humanism

“After four years of hard work, I felt the acute pain for Franklin (and his classmates) in his loss and grieving of the hooding ceremony. It is one of the highest honors a physician can bestow to hood another physician, and one that I did not take lightly. That said, it was a unique day in which we video-called much of our family and friends, and managed to document and enjoy. Good thing we weren’t on a stage after all, as I needed two tries to get the hood on right.”

Jessica Rutsky, MD
PGY-3, Pediatrics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
(On hooding Franklin Privette, 2020 MD Graduate, OSU College of Medicine, her fiancé.)

Voices in Humanism

“A Closer Look”
This collage was created using medical journals printed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At first glance from a distance, you see an image of a sunset. However, a closer look
reveals many different cut out patterns, images, and words that were intentionally and
delicately chosen because they were intriguing or thought-provoking to me in some
way. The experience of crafting this collage reminds me that #1. things are not always as
they appear–sometimes we must look closer. And #2. even in the midst of adversity, the
eye that seeks to see good can find it.

Rana Elgazzar
M.D. Candidate, Class of 2021
President, Gold Humanism Honor Society Class of 2021
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Voices in Humanism

Caregiving at Home During COVID-19
“As my mother and I painted together, we were thinking back on Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City in the past. We also painted the two trees in my front yard in Columbus. The picture is a combination of reminiscing on the past and reflecting the current time. My mom likes to reminisce about the past and she also notices nature in her current reflections.”

Phyllis Hornung
Jennifer H. Garvin, PhD, MBA, RHIA, CPHQ, CCS, CTR FAHIMA, FAHA
Director and Associate Professor
Health Information Management and Systems Division
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Chair, Humanism in Medicine Research Team
The Ohio State University

Voices in Humanism

Welcome to the Club
We never know when we might meet a superhero and when we might become one.

Digital Art
Meika Eby, MD and Kia Eby

Voices in Humanism

Studying during the quarantine with a cat around is sometimes tricky.

Victoria ’Tori’ Alexander
Class of 2021, OSU College of Medicine
MS, Global Health, 2017, University of Notre Dame