By Andrew Oh

Before walking out of the patient’s room, I bowed and spread my hands out, signifying respect and a thankfulness for one’s presence in our culture. He began to tear up – although I had been waiting for my first Samoan patient, he had been waiting much longer for his first Samoan provider.

“Keep going.”

I smiled.

Andrew Oh is a medical student from Seattle who wrote this piece after a shift in the Emergency Department.

By Samuel R. Atcherson

Spotify plays his favorite song.

Through Bluetooth the song is streamed to the external cochlear implant processor.

Through radio the song passes through the skin to the internal cochlear implant receiver.

Through electrical activity the cochlear implant electrodes stimulate the auditory system.

The brain perceives the song.

Never does the song touch air molecules.

Matrix?

Samuel R. Atcherson, Ph.D., FNAP, is a Professor of Audiology and Speech Pathology and Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at UAMS. He has lifelong hearing loss, is a tinkerer and sound explorer, and often is deep in thought about the miracles and challenges of life.

By Steve Sobel

Vacationing in the Caribbean, I was afflicted by intense tooth pain.

No secretary or working X-ray machine in the hot, tiny dentist’s office.

“You’ll need a root canal, but I can do a temporary procedure here.”

 I opted to trust him. My pain was relieved. 

Don’t judge a clinician by the lavishness of their clinic.

Steve Sobel is a psychiatrist who has worked in community mental health in Vermont and is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont. He has previously published satirical pieces, works in medical humanities journals and a short story collection titled: The Five Hundred Pound Amoeba and Other Psychiatric Tales (CreateSpace 2014). He enjoys finding new adventures such as traveling, backcountry skiing or making maple syrup.

By Katrenia Busch

From my abdomen was speech for thine ear. Twice-born words consumed, out of the pit of my stomach was my tongue of salty sea let loose to walk the path of the moonlight. At the stroke of mid-night, in the midst of dream did the sea waves turn my speech to tune your middle ear.

Katrenia Grace Busch is a seasoned nurse and healthcare administrator. She is also an award-winning poet and freelance journalist whose work has appeared in CBS, NPR, Red Penguin Books, Bloom Magazine and Echoes of the Wild among others. 

By Isabelle Okito

In the quiet of late nights, I juggle

work, motherhood, graduate studies.

Far from home, the weight heavy,

but dreams spark in the distance,

flickering like stars.

One paper, one tear,

one child’s laugh, one task completed,

each step, a triumph.

It’s hard. But it’s possible.

And one day, it will all be worth it.

Isabelle Okito is a devoted mother, and a second year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Informatics at UAMS. She works as a Neurodiagnostic Technologist in the Neurodiagnostic Clinical Lab. Passionate about writing and deeply committed to patient care, she strives to make a meaningful impact in both research and healthcare.

By Brandyn Young

White coats may be sacred robes. The lab hums—a quiet reverence. Each step, precisely measured, seeking truth. Pipettes and petri dishes are instruments of holy work. Data unfolds like scripture, revealing secrets now less hidden. Minds kneel in awe of discovery.

Research is a temple—clean hands, pure intent. Revelations that heal the world.

Brandyn Young is a second-year M.D./MPH student at UAMS, who wrote this work in gratitude to God for the wonder of science.