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UCF Art Literary Magazine Features Human Side Of Healthcare

In their latest effort to show the link between the arts and medicine, UCF College of Medicine students are beginning The Sc℞ipt, an art literary magazine that will include poetry, op-ed letters, photography, non-fiction, reflections, paintings and drawings.

Sc℞ipt is the brainchild of the college’s Arts in Medicine (AIM) organization, a student-run group committed to uniting the arts and sciences throughout Central Florida and healthcare. AIM has sponsored several artistic events and performances at the medical school, including last year’s first “Music Under the Stars” holiday concert in the Lewis Auditorium. The celebration collected arts and crafts supplies for Nemours Children’s Hospital, the college’s Medical City partner. AIM also has donated a piano to the Nemours lobby, and students go to the hospital to play, much to the delight of families and visitors. Some students are also conducting medical research on the role art plays in emotional and physical healing.

The magazine is the group’s latest endeavor to bridge science and art, said second-year M.D. student Michael Metzner, AIM’s president. “Art is about communication and the human side of what we do,” said Michael, who earned undergraduate degrees in biological chemistry and visual art from Florida Atlantic University. “If you are a good communicator, you’re a good doctor.”

Early submissions include topics such as vulnerability in medicine and an inspirational patient whose illness and death had an impact on every healthcare provider the patient encountered. In addition to students, AIM is asking College of Medicine faculty and staff to submit work for consideration. Students expect to publish the first edition of Sc℞ipt in January and make yearly editions a tradition at the College of Medicine.

AIM already has the first cover designed – an artist drawing a serpent contained in the staff of Aesculapius, the Greek God of medicine. The happy, cartoonish snake has a stethoscope around its neck, is wrapped around a paintbrush and is surrounded by musical notes.

The link between the arts and medicine has been an area of focus for Dr. Deborah German, vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of the College of Medicine. The medical school’s library is filled with artwork created by faculty, staff and students. The medical education building’s atrium includes a donated grand piano that students play. A local artist donated copper skeleton sculptures for display in front of the Anatomy Lab.

“Through the arts, we celebrate the healthy spirit that lives in us all,” Dr. German said.

For more information on AIM and the art literary magazine, please visit www.ucfaim.com.