Medical Humanities and Arts

Welcome to the 27th issue of PLEXUS, UC Irvine School of Medicine's Journal of Medical Humanities & Arts. PLEXUS is an annual, medical-student-organized publication that proudly showcases the vast talents, diverse perspectives, and nuanced experiences of the greater UCI Health community through art. It is our mission to spark introspection, catalyze meaningful discussions, and ultimately apply the tenets of medical humanities to foster a cohort of compassionate healers.

This year, we present to you MOSAIC. Every person embodies an amalgamation of stories, identities, and lived experiences which shape their perspective on health and healing. Like the tessellated fragments of a mosaic, no single piece tells the whole story — and yet, each is irreplaceable. The practice of medicine benefits from looking at each situation through an interdisciplinary lens, considering the different facets of patients' lives, and thinking carefully about what defines their vision of well-being. While a mosaic may traditionally only be perceived as a whole, each piece is integral to creating a story — one that is textured by emotions, memories, and meaning. Medicine extends beyond the science of diagnosing and treating; it encompasses the art of listening, connecting, and weaving together the fragments of our humanity into a collaborative understanding of health. We sought to explore the mosaics that shape our journeys in healthcare — as students, physicians, and patients — and to honor the pieces, however small or fractured, that hold everything together. To look at a mosaic is to resist the impulse toward reduction — to resist the idea that a patient is a diagnosis, that a physician is a role, that a story can be collapsed into a chart note. Each fragment carries its own color, weight, and history. Arranged together, they produce something that no single piece could have predicted.

And yet, a mosaic is never truly finished. New hands place new pieces; old pieces can shift or be reinterpreted in a new light. It is a form that invites revision and resists the illusion of a fixed and final meaning. If there is resistance to be found in this concept, mosaic, it is in the insistence that fragmentation is failure — instead, these cracks are not flaws to be concealed, but the very lines along which light enters and meaning is made.

The works in this journal display a similar refusal of an easy resolution. They ask: what does it mean to be seen, partially and imperfectly, by another? What is lost when we smooth over the edges of a person's story for the sake of clinical efficiency? What is found when we dare to sit with the complexity, the contradiction, and the color of a life? Each contribution — whether poem, painting, story, or photography — is itself a tile: irreducible, essential, and radiant in its particularity.

We sincerely thank our advisors Dr. Juliet McMullin and Dr. Tan Nguyen for their guidance, and the UCISOM Medical Humanities & Arts Program and Department of Family Medicine for their continued support.

May what lives between these pages settle something in you, stir something within you, and remind you why this work matters.

—

Celina Yang & Rhea Gandhi

Editors-in-Chief

Huan Nguyen    Creative Review

Caroline Gee    Creative Review

Xi Yu    Design

Bohan Zhong    Design

Britney Weng    Design

Nicole Parker    Design

Hannah Cho    Creative Review

Justin Yang    Advisory

Sara Arahi    Creative Review

UC Irvine School of MedicineWelcome to the 26th issue of PLEXUS, UC Irvine School of Medicine’s Journal of Medical Humanities & Arts. PLEXUS is an annual, medical-student-organized publication that proudly showcases the vast talents, diverse perspectives, and nuanced experiences of the greater UCI Health community through art. It is our mission to spark introspection, catalyze meaningful discussions, and ultimately apply the tenets of medical humanities to foster a cohort of compassionate healers.

This year, we present to you MOMENTUM. Whether it is the persistence of a heartbeat, the individual steps that accumulate into seismic shifts, or the tidal surge of collective efforts, momentum surrounds us. It is the wave of progress, the rush of breakthroughs, and the everyday moments that coalesce into transformative change— the flows, eddies, and vectors that define our lives and serve as the undercurrents to our stories. We sought to explore the momentum that shapes our journeys in healthcare, as students, physicians, and patients. We sought to define the very moments that push and pull us forward, past the swirling tides of uncertainty.

We sincerely thank our advisors Dr. Juliet McMullin, Dr. Tan Nguyen, and Leonora Naser-Saravia for their guidance, and the UCISOM Medical Humanities & Arts Program and Department of Family Medicine for their steadfast support. We hope the following pages offer you a sense of solace, inspiration, and fulfillment.

Christopher Sahagian, Editor-in-Chief

Kathleen Powers, Editor-in-Chief

Huan Nguyen, Creative Review

Caroline Gee, Creative Review

Sana Shah, Creative Review

Rhea Gandhi, Creative Review

Britney Weng, Design

Nicole Parker, Design

Bohan Zhang, Design

Kaveri Curlin, Initiatives

Justin Yang, Initiatives

Sara Araghi, Initiatives

Welcome to the 25th anniversary edition of PLEXUS, UC Irvine School of Medicine’s annual student-organized Journal of Medical Humanities & Arts. To mark this celebratory milestone, it is with great pleasure that I present to you NAVIGATE. In the ever-evolving landscape of medicine, the ability to navigate through challenges and unforeseen obstacles is paramount. NAVIGATE serves as a timely invitation for our colleagues to reflect on the distances traversed and to envision the new horizons that lie ahead. We sought to highlight the constellation of tools utilized when we feel lost and to acknowledge the beacons that steer our actions. The subsequent pages offer its readers profound

insights into the extraordinary journeys undertaken by the greater UCI Health community. We hope it delivers a sense of direction, solace, and clarity to all readers.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we honor the visionaries, contributors, and readers that have propelled us forward on this remarkable voyage. Their collective support fuels our efforts to serve as a creative outlet for the community, catalyze meaningful discussions, and apply the tenets of medical humanities to foster a cohort of compassionate healers.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our faculty advisors Dr. Juliet McMullin and Dr. Tan Nguyen for their invaluable guidance and for sharing their expertise within the field. We thank the UCISOM Medical Humanities & Arts Program and the UCI Department of Family Medicine for their unwavering support. I invite you to embark on this exploration with us, and witness the intricate tapestry of our contributors’ lived experiences that defines our shared journey in healthcare.

Bon voyage,

Christopher Sahagian

Editor-in-Chief

Creative Review — Caroline Gee

Creative Review — Huan Nguyen

Creative Review — Sana Shah

Design — Nicole Parker

Design — Britney Weng

Faculty Advisor — Dr. Juliet McMullin

Faculty Advisor — Dr. Tan Nguyen

Staff Advisor — Leonora Naser-Saravia

{Front Cover): NEW HEIGHTS Britney Weng, MS1

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

(Inner Cover): TRAVERSING  Britney Weng, MS1

Chile Route 23

Editor's Note

PLEXUS is a student-organized journal of the arts and humanities that showcases creative work by medical students, physicians, faculty, and others in the UC Irvine medical community. Through the universal language of art, the journal aspires to connect those who seek to heal and be healed.

We hope that PLEXUS will always serve as a creative and welcoming space in which we can all reflect and express our various emotional journeys in medicine and in life. Medicine, especially in recent years, may feel like a solitary endeavor. Now, more than ever, we hope PLEXUS provides solace and community to all who contribute to and view its pages.

Identity is the fact of being or knowing what and who we are – an intrinsic property of ourselves and our world that can be challenged, taken for granted, and ultimately shaped by how we choose to live. This year's 24th edition of PLEXUS, Identity, focuses on the experiences and reflections that make us who are. We are moved by forces and convictions that define our individual identities, our motivations in healthcare, and our society. Let us celebrate the triumphs and mourn the losses that carry us to the present and remember the hopes and ambitions we have for the future.

We are incredibly grateful to our amazing community for their support in sustaining PLEXUS. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisors Drs. Juliet McMullin, Tan Nguyen, and Frank Meyskens. As well as the Endowed Program in Medical Humanities & Arts and the Department of Family Medicine. This journal would not have been possible without their continuous support and guidance.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2023: Identity.

Kenneth Schmitt (MS4), Celina Yang (GR1), Ashley Hope (MS4)

Editors in Chief

(Front cover) Tower, Clifford Danza, MS1

(Background image) Salt of the Earth. Ashley Hope, MS4

Editor's Note

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases creative work by medical students, physicians, faculty, and others in the UCI medical community.

Through the universal language of art, the journal aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed. 

We hope that PLEXUS will always be a creative and welcoming space in which we can all reflect and share our experiences in medicine and in life. Medicine, especially in recent years, may feel like a solitary endeavor. Now, more than ever, we hope PLEXUS provides solace and community to all who contribute to and view its pages.

Illumination is the state of being brought to light. This year’s 23rd edition of PLEXUS, Illuminate, focuses on the action, the process, and the source by which we shine light on the world around us and all that is within ourselves. As a society we are still in a period of reckoning, returning, and reeling from recent changes. As part of a medical community we are committed to a lifelong process of learning and growing. In this issue we invited the UCI community to consider what we would like to bring to light – a question, a story, a cause, or a word of wisdom - to bring forth the things we are passionate about, are coming to terms with, and have newly discovered.

We are incredibly grateful to our amazing community for their support in sustaining PLEXUS. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisors Dr Johanna Shapiro, Dr Tan Nguyen, Dr Frank Meyskens, and Dr Juliet McMullin.

This journal would not have been possible without their continuous support and guidance.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2022: Illuminate.

Editors in Chief: Ashley Hope, Celina Yang, Kenneth Schmitt

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 medical student competition! Fireside with You, by Caroline Frambach (MS4); Tomatoes and Ice, by Gianna Kroenig (MS1); Present, by Christopher Sahagian (MS1); Dream Sequence, by Jessica Wang (MS3)

(Front cover) The Observatory By Vinay Sharma, MS1

Editor's Note

 PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases creative work by medical students, physicians, faculty, and others in the UCI medical community. Through the universal language of art, the journal aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed. We hope that PLEXUS will always be a  creative and welcoming space in which we can all reflect and share our experiences in medicine and in life.

This year, more than ever, we hope that PLEXUS can provide solace to those who contribute to and view its pages. The unprecedented challenges of the last year have brought us incredible hardships and sorrow, but also inspired newfound strength and profound kindness. In this year’s 22nd edition of PLEXUS, we embrace and celebrate all of this as part of the process of Emergence.

In this issue, we highlight the past year as a time of new things coming into being – whether good or bad – and to hold hope for the possibility of change for the better. Emergence is a process of coming to view and bringing things to light as well as the philosophy that greater things may arise which are unexpected and far better than any of the parts we see.

We are incredibly grateful to our amazing community for their support in sustaining PLEXUS. This year we are lucky to have a wonderful team of MS1 associate editors led by Celina Yang: Riya Bansal, Aaron Frank, Kathleen Powers, and Kelsey Roman. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisors Dr. Johanna Shapiro, Dr. Tan Nguyen and Dr. Frank Meyskens. This journal would not have been possible

without their continuous support and guidance.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2021: Emergence.

Editors in Chief: Ashley Hope, Kenneth Schmitt  

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 medical student competition!

Visual: Breaking Wave by Tammy Tran (MS3) Bloom/Plume/Bloom by Qingxing Liang (MS2)

Written: Dragonfly in Amber by Bethlehem Tesfaye (MS1), A Little Soda for Thought by Anna Cardall (MS3)

Performance: Emergence (Darkness) by Alex Richardson (MS3), On My Way remix by Harrison Lam (MS2)

(front cover) Egg By: Sam Vesuna (MS3)

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases creative work by medical students, physicians, faculty, patients, and others in the medical community. Through the universal language of art, the journal aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed. This year’s 21st edition of Plexus celebrates “Passion” - passion that drives us to pursue medicine and inspire the lives of those we serve. Congratulations to this year’s winners of the PLEXUS student competition. For writing: 1st: Anders Waalen (MS4) “Grief”, 2nd: Olivia Tsai (MS3) “Practice”, and 3rd: Priyanka Sharma (MS3) “The Weight”. For Visual, 1st: Lauren Michelle (MS2) “Breath of Life”, 2nd: Kenneth Schmitt (MS1) “Passion for Life”, and 3rd: Emmanuel R.C. Santuray (BSN RN student) “Open Seat”. For Performing Arts: 1st: Daniel Kwan and Kevin Wei (MS2s) “Gigue” and 2nd: Alex Richardson (MS2) “Breathe”.

A huge heartfelt thanks to our amazing editors, staff, and faculty for their support in making this special 20th edition possible. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisors Dr. Johanna Shapiro and Dr. Tan Nguyen – this journal would not have been possible without their continuous support and guidance.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2020 – Passion.

2020 Co-editors in chief: Ruchi Desai, Tammy Tran, and May Hui

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases creative work by medical students, physicians, faculty, patients, and others in the medical community. Through the universal language of art, the journal aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed.

This year, we are excited to celebrate the 20th edition of Plexus. To commemorate this milestone, we chose the theme of “Reflections” to encourage introspection on an often long but rewarding journey through the path of medicine. We feel so privileged to be a part of an incredible field with a unique legacy, allowing us to reflect on our past heritage and future legacy. While the journal submission and publication process is run by medical students, we believe that the medical humanities is a creative space open to everyone in the medical community. In keeping with last year, we continued to include wonderful submissions from students in the UCI School of Nursing, as well as graduate students from the biological sciences. Every year we are amazed by the emotions, reflections, stories, richness, and creativity of the submissions. We thank all of our submitters for their time and thought. Additionally, please find our performing arts pieces on our website, www.uciplexus.org. Previous publications and submissions are also available online.

A huge heartfelt thanks to our amazing editors, staff, and faculty for their support in making this special 20th edition possible. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisors Dr. Johanna Shapiro and Dr. Tan Nguyen, and Dr. Ellena Peterson (Associate Dean of Admissions & Outreach) – this journal would not have been possible without their continuous support and guidance. We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2019 – Reflections.

Co-Editors-in-Chief: Shreya Aiyar, Yvonne Lu, Priyanka Sharma

Design Chair: May Hui,

Design Team: Ruchi Desai, Tammy Tran

Performing Arts Chair: Janani Prasad

Creative Writing Chair: Malcolm Crawford

Social Media/Community Outreach Chair: Tammy Tran

Winners of the PLEXUS medical student competitions were made possible by the Program in Medical Humanities & Arts. Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Writing:

1st: Nazin Sedehi (MS3) “An Ode to My Bed”

2nd: Olivia Tsai (MS2) “Encounter”

3rd: Inbal Epstein (MS3) “Dr. Pyre”

Visual:

1st: Thalia Nguyen (MS3) “What Will My Reflection Show?”

2nd: Michael Niechayev (MS4) “Little Del Mar”

3rd: Sarah O’Dell (MS2) “Axonal Threads”

Performing Arts

1st: Matthew Sanford (Patient Account Rep, SBO, Medical Center) “First Takes 091818”

2nd: Alex Miner (Resident physician) “Don’t Stop Kicking Mommy”

3rd: Jeremy Martin and Nathan Calixto (MS4s) “Two German Songs: Widmung (Dedication) and Auf dem Flusse (On the River)”

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases artwork by medical students, physicians, faculty, patients, and others in the medical community. True to its name, PLEXUS aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed through the unifying language of art. This year we continued to expand our presence in the UCI medical community and beyond.

For our 19th edition of PLEXUS, we chose the theme of “Synergy” - a theme that implies collaboration, teamwork, and a merging of perspectives. In the interdisciplinary field of medicine, patients and their team of healthcare providers come to the table with unique beliefs, experiences, and insights that inform their decisions and attitudes. While the journal submission and publication process is run by medical students, we believe that the medical humanities is a creative space  open to everyone in the medical community. This year we included wonderful submissions from students in the UCI School of Nursing, as well as graduate students from the biological sciences. It is in seeing and hearing from others’ perspectives that we broaden our horizons and improve ourselves.

Every year we are amazed by the emotions, reflections, stories, richness, and creativity of the submissions. We thank all of our submitters for their time and thought. Additionally, please find our performing arts pieces on our website, www.uciplexus.org. Previous publications and submissions are also available online.

Winners of the PLEXUS medical student competitions were made possible by the Program in Medical Humanities & Arts.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Writing competition: 1st: Melinda Schneider, MS2 “Mouse Brains and Microtomes”; 2nd: Leigh Goodrich, MS4 “One Million and One”; 3rd: Nazin Sedehi, MS2 “To my class with Love”

Visual competition: 1st: Soe Thein, MS3 “Nurture”; 2nd: Kimberly Watanabe, MS3 “Black Diamond Healer”; 3rd: Stephanie Noh, MS2 “Field of Psammoma Bodies”

Performing arts competition: 1st: Jovauna Currey, Resident “The Synergy of the Patient/Physician Relationship”; 2nd: Alex Miner, Resident “Squeeze”; 3rd: Nathan Calixto & Chris Gabriel, MS3s “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton.

Thank you to our superb editors, staff, and faculty for their support in making this 19th edition possible. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisor, Dr. Johanna Shapiro and Dr. Ellena Peterson, Associate Dean of Admissions & Outreach - this book would not have been possible without your continuous support and guidance. We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2018 – Synergy.

 Plexus Editors-In-Chief: Celia Cheung, Joanna Turkiewicz

Project HX - Editor-In-Chief: Thalia Nguyen

Creative Writing & Visual Arts Team: Yvonne Lu, Julie Ferris, Shreya Aiyar, Arnie Shah, Julia Tran, Sarah O’Dell, Priyanka Sharma, Ava Runge

Design Team: Priyanka Sharma, Christina Kong, Nazin Sedehi

Digital And Social Media Editor: Christine Pham

Performing Arts Chair: Melinda Schneider

To contribute to PLEXUS or to request a PLEXUS exhibit at your event, please visit www.uciplexus.org

Follow us at www.facebook.com/uciplexus

Contest winners

1st place winner:  Melinda Schneider

2nd place winner: Leigh Goodrich

3rd place winner: Nazin Sedehi

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases artwork by the UCI School of Medicine students, physicians, faculty, staff, and patients.

True to its name, PLEXUS aspires to connect those who seek to heal and to be healed through the unifying language of art. This year we continued to expand our presence in the UCI medical community and beyond.

For our 18th edition of PLEXUS, we chose the theme of “Beneath the Surface, Between the Lines.” Throughout our lives and in medicine, there is more than meets the eye – a story untold. There is so much left unseen if we simply look at the surface. Every year we are amazed by the emotions, reflections, stories, richness, and creativity of the submissions. We thank all of our submitters for their time and thought. Additionally, please find our performing arts pieces on our website, www.uciplexus.org. Previous publications and submissions are also available online.

Winners of the PLEXUS medical student competitions were made possible by the Program in Medical Humanities & Arts. Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Writing competition: 1st: Nazin Sedehi, MS1 “When Your Dad Gets the C-Word”; 2nd: Adam Kalawi, MS3 “A Reflection on Anatomy Lab”; 3rd: Lauren DeDecker, MS1 “The Longest Trip”

Visual competition: 1st: Andy Trang, MS3 “Human Hands”; 2nd: Richelle Homo, MS1 “Vitality”; 3rd: Jamie Miller, MS3 “Restoration”

Performing arts competition: 1st: Jeremy Martin & Nathan Calixto, MS2s “Stars”; 2nd: Tiffany Pham, MS3 “Bleach and Scrub”; 3rd: Faith Njoku, MS1 “Integrate”

Thank you to our superb editors, staff, and faculty for their support in making this 18th edition possible. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisor, Dr. Johanna Shapiro and Dr. Ellena Peterson, Associate Dean of Admissions & Outreach - this book would not have been possible without your continuous support and guidance.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2017 – Beneath the Surface, Between the Lines

Plexus Editor-In-Chief: Sunober Siddiqi

Project HX Editor-In-Chief: Soe Thein

Creative Writing & Visual Arts Editors: Celia Cheung, Kaavya Raman, Joanna Turkiewicz Will Novey

Design Editors: Ben Nguyen, Sunober Siddiqi

Design Team: Christina Kong, Stephanie Noh, Nahzaneen Sedehi

Performing Arts Team: Nathan Calixto. Jeremy Martin. Melinda Schneider

Community Outreach & Selection Committee: Shreya Condamoor, Richelle Homo, Olivia Kaminsky, Carlin Lee, Olivia Marik-Reis, Faith Njoku, Violeta Osegueda, Patrick Penalosa, Tiffany Pham, Hyder Said, Rachel Sunico, Jamie Yabuno

1st place winner: Nazin Sedehi

2nd place winner: Adam Kalawi

3rd place winner:  Lauren DeDecker

 To contribute to PLEXUS or to request a PLEXUS exhibit at your event, please visit www.uciplexus.org

Follow us at www.facebook.com/uciplexus