Introduction
Dear Friend,
In this summer issue of Medicine and Meaning, we are proud to showcase the winners of the Paulette and Jay Mehta Creative Writing Contest and the Art from the Heart Competition. Both contests are designed to encourage creative expression, through writing and visual art, and to highlight the most outstanding submissions from the UAMS community.
These contests generated tremendous enthusiasm and participation, with dozens of poems, stories, and artwork submitted for consideration. The winning entries were honored at a celebratory reception on April 15, 2025, at UAMS. It began with an inspiring keynote address by our Provost, Dr. Stephanie Gardner. Her powerful remarks highlighted the essential role of the humanities in medicine—emphasizing their capacity to combat burnout and foster joy, meaning, and compassion in healthcare.
The winning stories and poems were selected by Dr. Micah Hester in the Department of Medical Humanities and his team. We feature these six remarkable works in this issue—three first-place winners and three honorable mentions—each selected for its originality, insight, and emotional impact.
In the winning poem, “Stories from My Attendings” medical student Esther Park shares poignant reflections from her clinical experiences, capturing pearls of wisdom gleaned from seasoned physicians during patient encounters.
Our honorable mention in poetry, “Mai Mai Myeloma” by Dr. Anup Trikannad, is a rhymed narrative poem that chronicles a patient’s experience with myeloma—from diagnosis through treatment and complications—with the triumphant refrain: “I’ll dance through the transfusions, Live through the scans— Because myeloma You’ve got no chance in my plans.”
In the fiction category, the winning story is “The ER Trip Waiting to Happen” by M.D./Ph.D. student Lucas Johnson, a creatively self-illustrated short story featuring three unforgettable patients who arrive at the emergency room. He describes these patients in three vignettes respectively which he names The Ballad of Chip and Petunia, The Long Way, and Lullaby. In these tales, Johnson masterfully blends actual clinical findings in the ER with imagined backstories, transforming these patients into rich, complex characters shaped by culture, history, and circumstance.
Our honorable mention for fiction is “The Forsaken Thread” by Dr. Samrat Roy Choudhury, a haunting and lyrical tale of a young woman with AIDS, chronicling the emotional and social fallout of her illness. This story relates to her transformation from a healthy woman to a transformed, transcendent being. The author tells us “She was no longer the girl we knew. In that moment, she had become something else—an ethereal vision of elegance and grace.”
In the creative nonfiction category, our winning essay is “A Young Doctor’s Reflection” by Dr. James Lisonbee, a powerful personal narrative about responding to a code blue for a patient with asthma. His reflection reveals both the emotional toll of the experience and the value and need for early preventive care.
The honorable mention in creative nonfiction is “The Mask” by Dr. Diane Jarrett, which explores her experience of wearing a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social judgment that came with it. Her piece reflects the polarization around public health measures and calls for empathy and unity, quoting Rodney King’s enduring plea: “Why can’t we all just get along?”
Alongside the writing contest, the Art from the Heart Competition brings a stunning visual dimension to our summer issue. Four exceptional pieces were recognized across categories. The Vincent van Gogh Award for Best Use of Color was presented to Maulla Mulla Dada for “Color Therapy,” whose vibrant palette evoked healing and emotional depth. The Leonardo da Vinci Award for Most Inventive Work went to Kaylee Walsh for “Medical Connections,” a dynamic exploration of medicine’s interwoven systems and humanity. Ann Neighbors received the Critics’ Choice Award for Overall Strongest Work for her piece “One Day,” a poignant and textured meditation on time and presence. Finally, the People’s Choice Award went to Emory Malone for “Frequencies,” which resonated widely for its fusion of visual and emotional energy.
This issue concludes with a selection of photographs from our spring reception, capturing the joy and connection among the many students, faculty, and staff who came together to celebrate the arts at UAMS.
We hope this issue inspires you—whether you are a seasoned writer or first-time artist—to create, reflect, and share. We look forward to receiving your own stories, poems, and artwork for future editions of Medicine and Meaning.
Warmest wishes,
Paulette Mehta, M.D., MPH
Why the Arts Matter to Health Professionals
By Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D.
Provost and Chief Strategy Officer
The arts have long given humanity a creative outlet for personal expression, building community, facilitating social change, reflecting and sharing our culture, evoking emotion, and enriching our lives. We engage in the arts to express ourselves but also as stress relief or pure enjoyment.
As you all well know, working in the health professions and in higher education can be emotionally draining and stress inducing. There can be long hours and exhaustion.
We hear so much about work-life balance and the need to find outlets for the built-up stress to support our physical and mental health. It’s been well-documented that the arts are a great avenue to improve emotional wellbeing and reduce stress.
A three-year study by the Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab involving arts therapy interventions with health care professionals reported in 2022 that study participants who engaged in creative arts therapy reported less burnout, anxiety, depression and emotional exhaustion.
I find joy and a creative outlet in reading, painting and photography. Based on my own experience, I feel the arts therapy study is very accurate. I enjoy unplugging from work or stress and focusing on seeing the world through a camera lens — including when I’m underwater, diving in the ocean — or translating something I see into a painting. In reading, I find escape but also the opportunity to learn.
When I look at the works of art on display here, I see joy. I see the work of people who have used their creative talents as a prescription for nurturing their own happiness, wellbeing… and to release pressure and the weight of their world.
I want to thank the artists as well as the writing award recipients, for sharing their talents with us so we can enjoy them.
UAMS is not merely a community of clinicians, educators and researchers — the Art from the Heart event and the Mehta Creative Writing Awards prove that we also are a community of talented artists.
Poetry
Stories from my attendings
When I sat down at a new desk, in a new school, in a new country
I forgot my own name
Pencil boring into paper, I tried to remember
over the sound of my classmates scribbling away.
Mai Mai Myeloma
The doctor says, “It’s myeloma.” Oh Oma, my doom’s diploma!
I came with back pain, now that’s my new aroma.
Fiction
An ER Trip Waiting to Happen
Petunia ran the Dairy Queen down on South Garrison Avenue like Jesus Himself might come down from Heaven and order a Blizzard any minute. That is to say, Petunia was a woman unequaled in precision and authority when it came to all things dealing with frozen dairy royalty.
The Forsaken Thread
It was a typical Sunday morning. Geeta, our domestic help, was busy frying puris in the kitchen. Dad sat engrossed in the newspaper while I tackled the crossword and sudoku puzzles. Suddenly, Maa walked into the room, launching into a monologue without pause.
Non-Fiction
A Young Doctor’s Reflection on a Young Patient’s Death
“Code Blue, ER,” the page game over the PA system.
The Mask: Memories from the Depths of the Pandemic
The man behind the counter glared at me with unveiled hostility. He then turned away and busied himself with unpacking some boxes and clearing off a desk, ignoring me completely. Odd.
Art from the Heart 2025 Winners
Critic’s Choice Award: Overall Strongest Work
Mattie Neighbors, Through the Lens of Perseverance
Event Pictures
