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COVID-19
WHERE TO FROM HERE

Discovering the Healer’s Art

By Medical Students at the UT Long School of Medicine

Why do you want to be a doctor? What motivates you to community remains, the grueling reality of medical training can
spend years in training and constantly make sacrifices for admittedly start to overshadow these ideals.
others? We are students at the Long School of Medicine at UT What if there was a way to restore the sense of awe and com-
Health San Antonio (UTHSA). Our time as pre-meds is still sharp passion that first drew us to medicine? What does it truly mean
in our memories, and much of our energy was spent contemplat- to be a healer? Together with physician mentors, we explored these
ing these important questions. Most of our peers would agree that lofty questions during The Healer’s Art, an enrichment elective
we are motivated by the deep desire to alleviate suffering and to offered to first year medical students across the country. Since its
serve others with compassion and empathy. Flash forward to pres- arrival at our school in 2018, The Healer’s Art has immersed stu-
ent day. We spend our time poring over lecture videos and books, dents in topics of grief, wonder, and service in medicine. Dr.
trying to cram every bit of knowledge into our over-caffeinated Rachel Naomi Remen of UCSF created the course almost 30 years
brains. While the passion for helping patients and serving our ago as a way to help students deepen their connections to their

24 San Antonio Medicine • July 2020