Medical Humanities and Arts

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

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.

In 2016, PLEXUS invited submissions to complement our theme of “Cultivating perspectives.” The PLEXUS team was astounded by the depth and richness of the pieces submitted, and we thank each and every one of our submitters for their time and thought. Additionally, please find our performing arts pieces on our website, www.uciplexus.org. Previous publications and pieces are available online as well.

Winners of PLEXUS Student Competitions made possible by the Program in Medical Humanities & Arts. We would like to congratulate the following winners for this year’s medical student competitions:

Writing competition: 1st: Leigh Goodrich, MS2 “Looking Up”; 2nd: Adam Kalawi MS2 “Death of A Star”; and 3rd: Carolyn Fall, MS2 “Passing.”

Visual competition: 1st: Andy Trang, MS2, “Fibers of Life”; 2nd: Mia Shan, MS2 “Nagare”; and 3rd: Vira Fomenko, MS2 “Ballooning Through Fairy Chimneys.”

 Performing arts competition: 1st: Sandra Gattas & Luke Yu, MS1, “When It’s Time”; 2nd: Stefan Brooks, Graduate student, “Best Days Ahead”; and 3rd: Nathan Calixto & Jeremy Martin, MS1, “Two Selections from ‘A Shropshire Lad’.”

Thank you to our wonderful editors, staff and faculty for their support in making this year’s 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 guiding hands.

 We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2016 – Cultivating Perspectives

 Editors-In-Chief: Austin Momii, Tiffany Pham

Creative Writing Editors: Carolyn Fall, Kaavya Raman

Design & Visual Editors: Heechul Jun, Faith Njoku, Kaavya Raman, Sunober Siddiqi, Beatrice Sun, Christopher Vo

Marketing & Outreach: Michael Bernaba, Carolyn Fall, Heechul Jun, Olivia Kaminsky, Helene Nepomuceno, Violeta Osegueda, Soe Thein, Jamie Yabuno

Website Design/ Digital Journal: Heechul Jun, Austin Momii, Sunober Siddiqi, Beatrice Sun

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

PLEXUS is a student-organized publication that showcases artwork by 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.

In 2015, PLEXUS invited submissions to complement our theme of ‘At the Intersection of Loss and Restoration”. The PLEXUS team was astounded by the depth and richness of the pieces submitted, and we thank each and every one of our submitters for their time and thought. Additionally, please find our multimedia submissions on our website, www.uciplexus.com. Previous publications and submissions are available online as well.

We would like to congratulate this year’s winners of the medical student writing competition. 1st: Kyle Barbour, MS1 “Two Months,” 2nd: Leigh Goodrich, MS1 “That Good Night,” and 3rd: Kimberly Vu, MS1 “The First of Many Patient Progress Notes”.

Thank you to our wonderful editors, staff and faculty for their support in making this year’s edition possible. We would like to give special thanks to our faculty advisor, Dr. Johanna Shapiro and Dr. Ellena Peterson, Associate Dean of Admissions and Outreach - this book would not have been possible without your guiding hands.

We hope you enjoy PLEXUS 2015 – At the Intersection of Loss and Restoration.

Editors-In-Chief: Kevin Gustafson, Jiwon Shin

Digital Editor-In-Chief: Neil Saez

Creative Arts: Evelyn Hoover, Katherine Stern, Katie McDaniel, Carolyn Fall, Kyle Barbour, Wilfred Manzano

Layout, Design & Visuals: Ben Nguyen, Austin Momii, Christopher Vo, Michael Bernaba

Marketing And Outreach: Helene Nepomuceno, Tiffany Pham

Website Design: Austin Momii, Christopher Vo

Winners of PLEXUS Student Writing Competition made possible by UCISOM Humanities Department

1st Place Winner: Kyle Barbour

2nd Place Winner:  Leigh Goodrich

3rd Place Winner: Kimberly Vu

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