The medical humanities transformed my perspective on medicine

Angelette Pham (COL’24)

Whenever someone asks me why I declared a minor in medical humanities, I always tell them that the field transformed my perspective on medicine. As a biochemistry major, I have always loved the hard sciences—and I still do—but the medical humanities have taught me that medicine is more than just science applied to healthcare. Learning to approach medicine through the lens of the humanities, I have been amazed by the multifaceted complexities of illness, involving both its pathology and its social, historical, and philosophical implications. What I love most about the medical humanities is its focus on the human in medicine. It investigates medicine in the context of the people both giving and receiving care. I think this perspective on medicine is crucial to providing more holistic and just care moving forward, a passion I hope to pursue in my career as I continue to be a student of the medical humanities.