MedHumChat Moving Forward: A Message from Colleen
January 31, 2021
Dear MedHumChat team members, community, and supporters,
Two years ago, on a whim, I launched MedHumChat. At the time, I was at the midway point of a gruelling three year internal medicine residency. I was bearing witness to so much suffering of my patients and was downright exhausted. I felt disconnected and in search of meaning and purpose. Launching MedHumChat was vital in filling that void.
Through MedHumChat, I found community, meaning, creativity, and beauty. The premise was simple: every two weeks I’d share a poem or essay on Twitter. At a set time, I tweeted discussion questions and anyone who was interested could tweet their reactions.
Social media can, at the surface, be impersonal and shallow. All about stirring up reactions, getting likes and retweets. But immediately, our MedHumChat discussions were deep, rich, and probing. Though I’ve only met a few participants face-to-face, during our Twitter chats I felt seen, heard, and connected. I made real friends, and looked forward to hearing from each of you.
Our discussions provided a counterbalance to the stifling hierarchy of medical training. First year medical students and attending physicians engaged as equals. Patients answered the questions of physicians. Nurses, occupational therapists, and patient advocates steered our conversations toward human experience and compassion.
Throughout this project, I have been so deeply moved by the messages of support and gratitude I have received. That so many people have similarly found connection and meaning through MedHumChat is the greatest return on investment I could imagine.
Since starting MedHumChat in January 2019, I’ve graduated from internal medicine residency at NYU/Bellevue and have begun my fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine. And, as you all know, our world has been upended by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As my life and our world have changed, so has my engagement with social media and MedHumChat. When I started MedHumChat, I didn’t have many followers on Twitter. I felt fairly anonymous and free to speak my mind. I’ve been grateful to have my platform grow over the years, but a bigger platform means my tweets are now seen by my colleagues, faculty, and employer. My engagement has begun to feel less spontaneous and more performative.
In these difficult times, I have found myself pulled to the quiet solitude of writing and painting. After many years of journaling and daydreaming, I am now starting in earnest to write a memoir about my experiences in medical training. And, while during residency I used what free time I had to work on MedHumChat, I am now trying to prioritize rest and relaxation over productivity. I have realized that I had a deep need to prove that my interests in medical humanities were valid and worthwhile, and that this inner need often fueled sleepless nights making MedHumChat a success. Thanks to both inner work and more secure professional standing, that pressure has significantly lessened.
For all these reasons, I’ve decided it is time for me to officially step down as the director of MedHumChat. I am so grateful for all the MedHumChat community has given me. Though I am moving on to other endeavors, I continue to work toward the mission of MedHumChat: to foster reflection, empathy, and connection in healthcare through engagement with the arts and humanities.
For the last several months, MedHumChat has been led by Dr. Rebecca Omlor who will now become the official director of MedHumChat. She and our other core team members have been doing a fantastic job keeping the mission of MedHumChat alive and infusing it with fresh and timely discussions. Becca and the MedHumChat team have my full confidence and support as they continue to help us all find beauty, meaning, and connection.
With love and gratitude,
Colleen