Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Category: Education

  • Suspicious minds

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden An IVU image showing the Kidneys, Ureter, and Bladder. 2007. Via Wikimedia. “Whatever it is, I’m against it.” — Groucho Marx   It was the day of my exam in urology. In 1975 I was a sixth-year medical student (in a seven-year course of study) at an old, highly-regarded European university.…

  • The medicine in our stars

    Nishitha Bujala Hyderabad, Telangana, India   Photo by Khamkéo Vilaysing on Unsplash I have been fascinated by the night sky for as long as I can remember. I would see the tiny, indiscernible stars and wonder if there was a bigger meaning to the world than what I had perceived. As I grew up, I…

  • Radiology and visual arts interpretation

    Kristin Krumenacker Huntington, New York, United States   The Doctor, 1891, Sir Luke Fildes.© The Tate Britain. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported). Source Medical schools have increasingly included the humanities in their curricula, hoping to encourage empathy and compassion in their students. The effects of teaching the humanities is not limited to the student but can benefit…

  • The revolution of Abraham Flexner and its aftermath

    Picture of Abraham Flexner. From The World’s Work, 1910, by W. M. Hollinger. Via Wikimedia. Unlike his brother Simon, who became a celebrated infectious diseases specialist and director of the Rockefeller Institute, Abraham Flexner was mainly interested in culture and education. He also grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where his father had ended up after…

  • Things to think

    Dean Gianakos Lynchburg, Virginia, United States   Detail of: A crossword fanatic ringing up a doctor in the middle of the night to find the answer to a clue. Line block after D.L. Ghilchilp, 1925. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Think in ways you’ve never thought before. If the phone rings,…

  • Not as a Stranger: The desperate medical student

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Doctors or medical students listening to their heartbeats using a multiple stethoscope. Photograph. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) In order to study medicine, a future doctor needs motivation, some intelligence, a medical school, and the ability to pay for the education. Morton Thompson’s 1954 novel Not…

  • “Looking at … Looking away”: A challenging and vital skill

    Florence Gelo Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Alice Neel Self-Portrait. Alice Neel. 1980. Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © Estate of Alice Neel, 1980. For nearly a decade, I have used images of paintings to teach students in health care professions how to cultivate the skills of looking while learning to recognize their own…

  • Thank you notes

    Margaret Mitchell Boston, Massachusetts, United States   Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash I wrote thank you notes after matching in my residency program, though I found I was thankful for things I had not anticipated. I began working with Dr. Langerman in my first year of medical school, both in clinical settings and research.…

  • Everyone’s pain

    David Nathaniel Yim Baltimore, Maryland, United States   Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash During a grueling two-week backpacking trip, I made the conscious commitment to become a physician. I did not realize at the time, but the painfulness of my trek was only beginning. I knew that I had to achieve excellent grades and…

  • Partial eclipse of the heart

    Perry Dinardo Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States   “Crescent Sun + Lens Flare” by Phil Bruxvoort is licensed under CC PDM 1.0. In early August 2017, the nation was buzzing about an upcoming total solar eclipse. I had been immersed in news about the eclipse for weeks, and decided it would be absolutely necessary for me to…