NEOMED Students Published in The Lumen
Second-year College of Medicine students John Kim and Julia Johnson recently had their work published in The Lumen, an initiative of the Medical Humanities Club at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences (UTCOMLS). The Lumen is a journal that celebrates the intersection of art, history, literature and medicine. In an environment often dominated by science and clinical research, it provides a space for the humanities to be seen as equally vital to understanding the human condition. Just as the anatomical lumen is the innermost part of a vessel, the editors of The Lumen envision art and storytelling as a central, luminal space in medicine.
Kim contributed two pieces to the journal’s fifth issue. His poem, A Differential Diagnosis, plays with the tension between clinical reasoning and personal reflection, showing how the language of medicine can double as a lens for human experience. In contrast, his nonfiction short story, What We Stay Alive For, moves beyond the clinic to reflect on themes of endurance, connection and meaning. Together, the two works showcase the versatility of narrative form and Kim’s ability to engage both the technical and the emotional aspects of medicine.
Johnson’s nonfiction short story, A Strange Encounter, adds another layer to the issue. With keen observation and emotional depth, she explores the unexpected ways in which patients and providers cross paths, sometimes reshaping each other’s lives in subtle but lasting ways. Her piece reminds readers that the practice of medicine is not only about diagnosis and treatment but also about recognizing the profoundly human encounters that unfold in every clinical space.
The presence of Kim and Johnson in The Lumen highlights how NEOMED students are engaging with the humanities to enrich their medical education. By contributing to a journal that places art and story at the heart of medicine, they underscore the idea that the humanities are not peripheral but essential. Their works, poetic, reflective and narrative, fit seamlessly into The Lumen’s mission of holding space for creativity within medical training. In doing so, they remind us that the stories and reflections of future physicians are as vital as the science they study.
Read their publications here:
- submitted by Brian Harrell, Writing Center specialist