History of Present Illness

Inspired by reflections on the current Covid-19 pandemic and recalling AMA debates over the “duty to treat” HIV and AIDS patients in the 1980s, Sophie Schott has crafted a poem that challenges us not to repeat history by refusing to treat marginalized patients. “History of Present Illness” questions whether clinicians should be guided by personal preferences or by a higher calling.
The Road to Recovery

Kirsten Woodend considers the space between being “broken” and being “whole,” when the patient’s road to recovery will never end in full rehabilitation. She writes of the difficult struggle to choose between “acceptance” and constant striving toward “recovery.” In this poignant poem, she finds herself at a fork in this unique road.
Eye Spy 2022: Improving Nonverbal Communication and Interprofessional Perceptions in Health Science Students

In a second article deeply exploring the insights of the Eye Spy program (see Eye Spy, 2018), Cynthia Dodds et al examine the effects of guided visits to an art museum on affective domain development and interprofessional perspective in health science students. The authors demonstrate, step by step, how using visual-thinking-strategy instruction in a museum setting can support the development of “compassionate and patient- and family-integrated care providers.”
Finding Voice and Vulnerability Through Virtual Learning

Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents Congratulations to Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Doctor of Physical Therapy Program graduate student Joseph Rivera, SPT, the winner of the annual physical therapy student essay contest co-sponsored by the ACAPT Consortium for the Humanities, Ethics, and Professionalism (CHEP) and JHR. This writing competition is […]
Resources to Promote Inclusion and Belonging

For Spring 2022, the JHR is publishing for the first time a resource list related to cultivating belonging for students and patients in healthcare education and healthcare settings. This exceptional compilation of articles, books, movies, and artwork could serve as “an academic course in and of itself,” according to one of our editors.
Doing Healthcare Research Differently: An Introduction to SocioHealthLab’s Special Video Series, Part 1

In this first of two installments within SocioHealthLab’s special video series with JHR, the authors “begin doing health research dissemination differently” by telling their “story/stories” through animation, music, sound, and discourse. The videos shared here range from heart-rending personal patient experiences of pain and fear, to a humorous ‘what-if’ look at rehabilitation processes with the use of cartoon animals. Viewers are invited to relax and share these brief accounts in a “quiet space.”
Office Visit

With observant humor and a brisk rhythm, Michele Mekel’s poem evokes the memory of an awkward encounter in a waiting room, where a doctor initially dismissed her at first sight. “Office Visit” serves as a reminder to healthcare professionals not to make snap judgments and underestimate their clients.
Reconciling Mystical Experience with Concept of the Self: The Poetry of an Individual with a Right Temporal Lobectomy

This poignant report maps the direct line between the introduction of humanities into rehabilitation and its powerful impact on healing—and beyond. It begins with a case study of a 47-year-old woman with a right temporal lobectomy at age 22, who has written poetry over the past 30 years “to express her positive mystical experiences.” The content then switches to the first-person, with poet Michele Slaton describing the remarkable insights she has experienced on her rehabilitation journey. Her poems, included here, present a deep and moving argument for the gifts that a physical crisis can unlock when humanities play a part in treatment.
Community Mobility Method Selection in Individuals With iSCI: A Qualitative Analysis

A primary rehabilitation goal for individuals with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) is to regain their walking abilities. But what factors influence their paths to achieving that goal?
Fall Editorial 2021: “Hope is a Muscle”

As we continue to grapple with multiple challenges to our collective well-being, Sarah Blanton explores the healing power of hope in her latest editorial. How, she asks, might we transform “a landscape of loss” into a “horizon of hope?”