Intro to Medical Humanities made me feel inspired and reinvigorated

Jacob DeAnnuntis (COL’23)

Last semester I was enrolled in Intro to Medical Humanities with Dr. Krishnan. It is easily one of my favorite courses that I’ve taken at Georgetown. Being a STEM major, approaching medicine via the lens of literature and history versus the typical scientific approach added important context to the topics covered in my other classes. Engaging with such a wide variety of course materials, from Netflix documentaries and Sherlock Holmes to historical medical journals and famous novels, I realized how vast the field of medical humanities really is, with medicine being influenced by history and culture at every turn. A particularly impactful moment in my studies of the medical humanities occurred when two doctors gave a presentation on the pitfalls of race-based medicine, and went further to discuss the roles of doctors in society. I felt inspired and reinvigorated. I still carry this information with me on my medical journey. I look forward to taking more medical humanities courses in the future!