The practice of medicine is an art. Medicine is based on most often, very well-defined principles and processes that provide guidance to physicians on how to treat diseases. However, the true practice of medicine requires communicating and conveying empathy, kindness and genuine concern for the who are sick and their loved ones. The link between science and art becomes clear as one starts to practice medicine. Conveying a difficult diagnosis, a complex management plan or most crucially, diagnostic uncertainty requires humility, moral clarity and respect for others. The study of art and humanities brings us closer to that goal. How we express ourselves and how we perceive others requires us to connect science and literature and that connection leads to our practice of medicine becoming the art of medicine.
The 6th edition of the Lumen provides an opportunity to understand how literature and medicine intersect in a meaningful way and make us better at what we do.
I am grateful to Dr. Husain, Dr. Matus, the authors and the student editors’ remarkable effort. We truly appreciate their hard work and the insight this magazine provides with each new issue.
Sincerely,
Imran Ali MD
Dean and Vice Provost for Health Education
Professor of Neurology
University of Toledo, COMLS
