Jefferson Humanities & Health

Saturday, October 10, 11AM-4PM, Jefferson Alumni Hall.

The Disability Healthcare in Medical Education Conference is an interdisciplinary conference that brings together healthcare professionals, trainees, educators, advocates, and community members to explore disability-inclusive healthcare. Through keynote presentations, panel discussions, breakout sessions, research posters, and networking opportunities, attendees will learn from clinicians, individuals with disabilities, and community partners. Sessions will focus on communication, accessibility, advocacy, aging, and approaches to creating more inclusive healthcare environments for individuals with disabilities.

Hosted by Jefferson's AADMD & FAB Center for Complex Care.

This is not a Jefferson Humanities & Health event, but credit is available for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate.

Tuesday, October 13, 12-1PM, Jefferson Alumni Hall, Room 307. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

Join us for Our Words Matter: A Guide to Reducing Stigma and Bias in Clinical Communication, facilitated by Dr. Megan Healy, MD, Professor, Clinical Emergency Medicine, Assistant Program Director, Emergency Medicine Residency, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

Dr. Healy will review best practices in patient-centered language to reduce stigma, improve the patient-physician alliance, and advance health equity.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator..

Tuesday, October 13, 6:30-7:30PM. Location TBD. Food provided.

Join Physician Executive Leadership for a Women in Medicine & Leadership roundtable featuring Jefferson residents sharing their experiences navigating residency, leadership, mentorship, and career development as women in medicine. This informal discussion will give students the opportunity to hear candid perspectives, ask questions, and connect with residents across different stages of training. 

This is not a Jefferson Humanities & Health event but credit is available for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate.

Wednesday, October 14, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

What happens when we look at a medical report through a patient's lens? What if we hear their clinical words differently? Imagine their meanings in new ways? What if we bring some of the strategies of poetry to those reports? What if we listen to the musicality and rhythm of the language of medicine?

After close reading of several examples of poems that incorporate medical language and then following a few writing prompts, participants will explore the language of a medical report and transform it into a poem.

Facilitator: Jenny Burkholder is the former Montgomery County Poet Laureate. She has published a poetry chapbook, Repaired (Finishing Line Press, 2016), and her poems have appeared in The Calundula Review, 2River View, and North American Review, among others. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Intima, Gramercy Review, and Epiphany, among others. She is the Creative Nonfiction Editor for Philadelphia Stories and co-host of OVERexpressed & OUT, a podcast that amplifies Philadelphia-area artists, activists, change agents, and pioneers.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator..

This event has been postponed, please check back for updates.

Wednesday, October 14, 5-6:30PM, Bluemle Life Sciences Building Room 107. Dinner provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Join us for a workshop with interdisciplinary artist and maker Ally Messer. Students will learn how to use an awl, needle, waxed thread, and paper to create journals using the Japanese Noble bookbinding technique. This workshop will cover the basics of sewing a softcover Japanese Noble binding, punching holes in a bookblock, tying square knots, paper-folding, and general troubleshooting. By the end, students will walk away with a blank handbound journal of their own.

Ally Messer is an interdisciplinary artist and maker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2017, Messer co-founded Laika Press, a cooperative, community-based print shop aimed at increasing accessibility to printmaking in her hometown of Reno, NV. She holds a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Nevada, Reno and an MFA in Fibers and Material Studies from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Dedicated to storytelling, Messer's work often takes the form of books, zines, animation, puppetry, and installation. Her most recent body of work highlights instances of care and reciprocity in communities of species-not-our-own; with the hope that humans may learn from the entangled world how to better support one another in this time of ecological crisis.

Wednesday, October 14, 5-7PM, BLSB 105. Open to Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

Curated by Co-Directors and DEAFMed student liaisons Allie Capik, SKMC '2028, Benedicta Olonilua, SKMC '26 and Natalie Perlov, SKMC '25, the DEAFMed series seeks to educate health professions students about Deaf culture & history and how to work with the Deaf community.

This lecture will cover essential and helpful terms for using American Sign Language (ASL) in medical settings. You will learn how to better communicate with Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in medical settings, as well as other tools beyond ASL.

Presenters: Karen Kennedy (Education Program Manager, DHCC), Sam Hawk and Kelly Barden.

SKMC students taking DEAFMed as a Humanities Selective who are also enrolled in the JMD 153 or JMD 252 Asano Humanities & Health Certificate are not eligible to count these sessions towards Asano.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator..

Thursday, October 15, 12-1PM, Hamilton 208/209

In honor of Liver Cancer Awareness Month, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), Gastrointestinal and Hepatology Interest Group (GHIG), and Infectious Disease Society (IDS), in collaboration with the Hepatitis B Foundation, invites you to a discussion on hepatitis B, liver cancer, and disparities in liver disease among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities.

Hepatitis B remains an important public health concern in the United States, affecting over 2.4 million individuals nationwide and disproportionately impacting AANHPI communities. Screening, early detection, and appropriate management are therefore especially important for reducing the burden of hepatitis B in Philadelphia and beyond.

This event will explore the intersection of research, clinical care, public health, and advocacy through perspectives from various leaders in hepatitis B research and care: Dr. Hien Dang, Vice Chair for Research and Director of the Cancer Genomics Program; Dr. Catherine Freeland and Ms. Stella Dlamini, Associate Director of Public Health Research and Public Health Program Manager at the Hepatitis B Foundation, respectively; and Dr. Rebecca Loh, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in Gerontology and Transplant Hepatology.

Attendees will learn about current research in liver cancer and hepatitis B virology and treatment, how patients living with hepatitis B are cared for, ongoing efforts to address disparities in prevention and diagnosis, and ways future healthcare professionals can become involved in promoting equity and awareness.

This is not a Jefferson Humanities & Health event, but credit is available for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate and the Anti-Racism in Health Focus, a subset of Asano.

Thursday, October 15, 4-8PM, Dorrance H. Hamilton Building. Open to all.

Join us for an evening of interdisciplinary learning, dialogue, and collaboration hosted by the Jefferson Center for Injury Research & Prevention and the Department of Surgery. Hear from leading voices in gun violence prevention, engage in conversations with experts and peers, and connect with physicians, researchers, educators, students, and advocates to exchange ideas and advance evidence-based approaches to building safer communities together.

This is not a Jefferson Humanities & Health event, but credit is available for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate.

Thursday, October 15, 5-6PM. BLSB 107. Food provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Jefferson's Gold Humanism Honors Society (GHHS) is pleased to present Dr. Robert Perkel, a practicing Jefferson Family Medicine physician with close ties to Dr. Arnold P Gold (founder of GHHS) for our upcoming Empathy Grand Rounds. In this event, Dr. Perkel will examine what medical history teaches us and how we can use those lessons  to better guide modern care. 

This is not a Humanities & Health event, but credit is available for the Asano Humanities & Health Certificate.

Wednesday, October 21, 5-7PM. BLSB 105. Open to Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

Curated by Co-Directors and DEAFMed student liaisons Allie Capik, SKMC '2028, Benedicta Olonilua, SKMC '26 and Natalie Perlov, SKMC '25, the DEAFMed series seeks to educate health professions students about Deaf culture & history and how to work with the Deaf community.

In this session, attendees can step into the shoes of DHH patients or clinicians who serve them. This immersive event will provide a safe and supportive environment for participants to experience firsthand the challenges and triumphs of communication in the DHH community. Through engaging role-play exercises, attendees will gain invaluable insights into Deaf culture, American Sign Language (ASL), and practical strategies for providing healthcare to Deaf individuals.

Presenters: Sam Hawk, Paul Thiergartner, and Karen Kennedy (experienced Deaf interpreters in medical settings)

SKMC students taking DEAFMed as a Humanities Selective who are also enrolled in the JMD 153 or JMD 252 Asano Humanities & Health Certificate are not eligible to count these sessions towards Asano.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Thursday, October 22, 12-1PM, Hamilton 224/225. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

We all have a soundtrack that marks the many chapters of our lives. Teaching artist Josh Robinson will facilitate a reflection through your musical past, your stories, and the role music has played throughout your life. The workshop uses music as a vehicle to help participants connect to others and reconnect to themselves. Participants will be guided to reflect on the meaning of various songs in their lives and how music has helped them through both positive and negative experiences.

About the facilitator

Josh Robinson is a professional percussionist, teaching artist, and drum facilitator. He has been a visiting instructor in the Humanities at Thomas Jefferson University for the past eight years and is in his sixth year as the Humanities artist-in-residence. For the past 23 years, Josh has used his skills, expertise, and life experience to share drumming and the many gifts it brings with thousands of people each year around the country. Learn more about Josh at joshrobinsondrums.com.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Thursday, October 22, 5-6PM. Ham 208/209. Refreshments provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

Every person has a story. In this candid conversation series, we’ll talk with community members about their real experiences at the intersection of healthcare, wellbeing and identity. Each guest brings unique insights and expertise into problems of health that span social and clinical dimensions, and engage questions of access, equity and justice. Sessions will be led by an interprofessional team of Jefferson student moderators and include interactive Q&A with attendees.

Special guest: Eddie Dunn

In 2014, while experiencing homelessness and using drugs in Philadelphia, Eddie Dunn met artist Willie Baronet and was featured in Baronet’s documentary film, Signs of Humanity. Months later, while in recovery, Dunn reconnected with Baronet and shared how his life had changed, ultimately joining Baronet for a series of public events geared toward fighting stigma around homelessness and opioid use disorder. In 2017, the pair teamed up with Jefferson professor of Population Health Rosie Frasso and have worked together on several arts-informed projects designed to shed light on the challenges faced by people in need.

Community Voices is presented by the Jefferson College of Population Health, the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education, and Jefferson Humanities & Health.

Questions? Please contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator, Office of Student Affairs..

Monday, November 2, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty and staff.

Join us for a small-group discussion of the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, and her impact on modern medicine and science.

Listening:

‘Henrietta Lacks’: A Donor’s Immortal Legacy, interview with Rebecca Skloot on Fresh Air (2010) (audio: 37min)

Time: 37min of listening

The Health Humanities Reading Group explores the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, whose cervical cells, taken and used without her knowledge, have played a role in modernity as we know it: from vaccines to medicine to space travel. Lacks’ story is unique but also representative of the pervasive mistreatment of Black people by institutions of medicine, science, education, and healthcare.

Special guest discussant: Ana Mari­a Lopez, MD, MPH, MACP, Professor and Vice Chair, Medical Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Chief of Cancer Services, Jefferson Health New Jersey, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center

Copies of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot will be provided at the end of the session.

About HHRG

The Health Humanities Reading Group (HHRG) gathers regularly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. Participants are expected to read, and come prepared to discuss, the text selected for each session.

Monday, November 2, 5-6PM. Zoom. Open to Jefferson students.

Participants will be guided through a series of practices designed to bring peace and calm by connecting with the breath, body and creative spirit. Facilitated by Peggy Tileston, MT-BC.

About the Creative Approaches to Self-Care Series

In order to care effectively for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This interdisciplinary series is designed to engage students in self-care practices that promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Workshops will address topics including how to cope with stress and anxiety, cultivate relaxation techniques, find balance and develop self-compassion.

Please note: This workshop will take place online and is open to Jefferson students only; pre-registration required. Particpants will be sent a Zoom link at a later date. If you register and cannot attend, please cancel at least 24 hours in advance to make room for another participant. Thank you!

Co-presented with the Student Counseling Center (SCC).

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Conversation with the Author | Wednesday, November 4, 12-1 p.m. | Jefferson Alumni Hall, Atrium, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia (Center City Campus). Lunch provided while supplies last.

Keynote Lecture | Wednesday, November 4, 4-5 p.m. | DEC Forum, Lawrence N. Field DEC Center, 4201 Henry Avenue, Philadelphia (East Falls Campus)

Both events free and open to all.

In his National Book Award-winning novel Blackouts, author Justin Torres explores queer history, inheritance, and erasure.

At the core of the novel Blackouts is the imagined deathbed conversations between a young, unnamed narrator (referred to as Nene) and his friend and elder, Juan Gay. As Juan waits for his end, the two recount for each other moments of joy and oblivion, resurrecting loves, lives, mothers, fathers, and minor heroes. Juan shares his tattered and redacted copy of Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns, and passes on his final wish: that Nene complete the story of Jan Gay, the real-life researcher whose early-20th-century interviews with queer people across the United States and Europe offered the foundation of Sex Variants, but whose contributions ended up being eclipsed—and all but erased—by the scientists whose legitimacy she required to publish her work. A dream-like and genre-defying creation, Blackouts incorporates erasure, photographs, testimony, illustrations, imaginary screenplays, and more as it insists that we look long and steadily at what we have inherited and what we have made.

Justin Torres is a novelist celebrated for a distinctly lyrical style that weaves truth and fiction, blending genres as he explores queer art, love, lineage, life, and death—and the multifaceted dynamics between family, friends, mentors, and strangers—through narrative. He is the author of Blackouts, winner of the 2023 National Book Award, and the instant contemporary queer classic We the Animals, which was translated into fifteen languages and adapted into a feature film. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Torres was named a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35,” a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, a Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library, and was a recipient of a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship. His short fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, Tin House, The Washington Post, LA Times Image Magazine, and Best American Essays. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches at UCLA. He is at work on a new novel.

During 2026-2027, the Jefferson Humanities Forum hosts multidisciplinary scholars and thinkers to investigate the theme of Movement.

Co-presented by Jefferson Humanities & Health, the Philadelphia University Honors Institute at Thomas Jefferson University and the College of Humanities & Sciences.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Wednesday, November 4, 5-7PM, BLSB 105. Open to Jefferson students, faculty and staff.

Curated by Co-Directors and DEAFMed student liaisons Allie Capik, SKMC '2028, Benedicta Olonilua, SKMC '26 and Natalie Perlov, SKMC '25, the DEAFMed series seeks to educate health professions students about Deaf culture & history and how to work with the Deaf community.

During this session, you can further develop your communication skills with Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, enhance your cultural competence, and refine your ability to collaborate with sign language interpreters. This skills reinforcement session aims to solidify attendees’ understanding and confidence in navigating healthcare interactions with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Presenters: Sam Hawk, Paul Thiergartner, and Karen Kennedy (experienced Deaf interpreters in medical settings)

SKMC students taking DEAFMed as a Humanities Selective who are also enrolled in the JMD 153 or JMD 252 Asano Humanities & Health Certificate are not eligible to count these sessions towards Asano.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Thursday, November 5, 12-1PM. Conrady Lobby, next to Helix Gallery, Dorrance H. Hamilton Building, 1001 Locust Street. Lunch provided while supplies last. Free and open to all.

Join us for a conversation and tour of the Helix Gallery exhibition Relics of Care with artist Aimee Koran.

Philadelphia artist Aimee Koran works across mediums and explores how images, issues, and objects intimately associated with motherhood reveal how care is valued in social, political and economic terms. By manipulating color, material and scale, she transforms personal possessions synonymous with pregnancy, infancy, and parenting - some hand-made, some handed down, some mass produced - from refuse into relics. Through her prints and sculptures, Koran retools the remnants of maternal labor to question ways in which the work of women is often overlooked and under-appreciated.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator..

Monday, November 9, 12-1PM, Hamilton Room 505. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty and staff.

In this Anti-Racism in Health Focus discussion, learn to define the concept of race, the institution of racism, and race-based medicine.

In this Anti-Racism in Health Focus introduction to the history of racism in medicine, participants will learn to

• Define the concept of race
• Define the institution of racism and its many forms including structural racism
• List 3 specific examples of racism in medicine
• Explain race-based medicine and describe examples of how it contributes to structural racism

Facilitator: Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Thomas Jefferson University.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Tuesday, November 10, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Join us for a discussion of excerpts from the short story collection People from My Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami..

A collection of interlinking stories blending the mundane and the mythical. A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a tree; a schoolgirl who keeps doll’s brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of People from My Neighborhood. In twenty-six “palm of the hand” stories—fictions small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand and brief enough to allow for dipping in and out—Hiromi Kawakami creates a universe ruled by mystery and transformation.

Copies of People from My Neighborhood will be available for students at the discussion. Participants will be notified when the reading becomes available.

Facilitator:

Katherine Hubbard, MA, Teaching Instructor, JeffMD Humanities Selectives, Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Participants are expected to read, and come prepared to discuss, the text selected for each session. To access the reading, participants must visit the Health Humanities Reading Group module in the Jefferson Humanities & Health organization on Canvas or the JMD 153 or the JMD 252 Asano Certificate courses on Canvas. Most Asano students are already users in these Humanities & Health Canvas courses. If that is not the case, participants may email Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

About the Health Humanities Reading Group:

The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers regularly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. Participants are expected to read, and come prepared to discuss, the text selected for each session.

Wednesday, November 11, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Bring your questions about how to write about the Humanities programs you plan to attend during this academic year. Leave with fresh ideas about how you might turn your impressions into thoughtful, creative reflections as you complete your Asano portfolio. We will focus mostly on written reflections, but will also touch on other forms of creative response to the events, topics, and experiences you will be collecting as an Asano candidate. You will leave this workshop with examples of concise essays and poems that might inspire your own reflections. We will also discuss how a reflective practice could help you grow and thrive throughout your career as a healthcare professional.

Led by Megan Voeller, Director of Humanities.

Participants who attended the Asano Humanities Portfolio sessions on August18, August 31, or October 5 for Asano credit may not count this session towards Asano credit.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Programs Coordinator.

Thursday, November 12, 12-1PM, Bluemle LIfe Science Building, Room 105. Lunch provided. Opent o Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

In this Anti-Racism in Health Focus discussion, learn to define microaggressions and the steps one can take to disarm their effects.

A microaggression is an unintentional and unconscious action that can negatively affect our day-to-day human interactions. They cause real harm to individuals. There is a large amount of evidence that it can be a major factor in the creation of disparities in the healthcare environment that can ultimately lead to patient-care disparities. In this session, we will define microaggressions, its documented effects in medicine, the concept of silent collusion, and the steps one can take to disarm the effects of microaggression.

At the end of the session, the attendees will be able to

• Define microaggressions.

• Give two examples of how microaggressions affect the patient care environment.

• Define “silent collusion.”

• Name at least three techniques to address a witnessed microaggression.

Facilitator: Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Thomas Jefferson University.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, HUmaniteis Program Coordinator.

Thursday, November 12, 5-6:30PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Light dinner provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Everyone needs some down time but not the guilt that comes when we think we are not being productive. Why not relax and be productive by joining us for some yarn work??

Spend some time with Dr. Elizabeth Spudich and Dr. Abigail Kay learning how to knit or crochet; or if you are already skilled come and share your talent.

Each student will get a kit including yarn, hooks or needles (depending on your chosen craft), some basic patterns, and other surprises!

Facilitators:

Dr. Abigail Kay, MA, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs & Undergraduate Medical Education, Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Dr. Elizabeth Spudich, PhD, Assistant Professor, Chief, Anatomy Education Division, Department of Medical Education, JeffMD Anatomy Thread Director, JeffMD Cardiopulmonary Block Co-Director, Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

This event is full - check back for openings, or email Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator, to be contacted when space becomes available. Participants may not have a choice of craft due to pre-ordered supply availability.

Monday, November 16, 12-1PM. Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Join Linda Ruggiero, PhD, BS, BSN, RN-BC for an introductory workshop on mindful weaving. In this all-levels workshop, participants will learn the basics of hand weaving and will create a unique textile wall hanging.

We will begin class with an introduction to weaving on a frame loom, and students will learn the basics of warping and weaving the basic stitch: plain weave. Once comfortable with these techniques, each student will be asked to consider a story or memory in their personal life that they would like to represent in their textile. Using color cards and color psychology theory, students will choose fabrics, yarn, and threads that represent elements of their stories to create their own personalized weavings.

No experience needed; all materials provided. 

Linda Ruggiero, PhD, BSN, BS, RN-BC, is a Philadelphia-based nurse and textile artist whose sculptural fiber work is informed by her experiences in critical care at a Level I trauma center. As a clinically practicing nurse with doctoral training in neuroscience, she uses color psychology and tactile materiality to create textiles that tell stories of grief, trauma, and healing. Linda is the Clinical Practice Lead in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Jefferson Health.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator..

Monday, November 30, 5-6PM, Zoom. Open to Jefferson students.

In order to effectively care for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This virtual workshop will introduce you to a variety of art-based experiences designed to promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Facilitated by art therapist Sondra Rosenberg.

About the Creative Approaches to Self-Care Series

In order to care effectively for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This interdisciplinary series is designed to engage students in self-care practices that promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Workshops will address topics including how to cope with stress and anxiety, cultivate relaxation techniques, find balance and develop self-compassion.

Please note: This workshop will take place online and is open to Jefferson students only; pre-registration required. A Zoom link will be provided at a later date. If you register and cannot attend, please cancel at least 24 hours in advance to make room for another participant. Thank you!

Co-presented with the Student Counseling Center (SCC).

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Tuesday, December 1, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

JJoin us for a discussion of excerpts from the The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad.

In The Book of Alchemy, Suleika Jaouad explores the art of journaling and shares everything she’s learned about how this life-altering practice can help us tap into that mystical trait that exists in every human: creativity. She has gathered wisdom from one hundred writers, artists, and thinkers in the form of essays and writing prompts. Their insights invite us to inhabit a more inspired life.

Copies of The Book of Alchemy will be available for students at the discussion. Participants will be notified when the reading becomes available. This session will also include some journaling.

Facilitator:

Katherine Hubbard, MA, Teaching Instructor, JeffMD Humanities Selectives, Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Participants are expected to read, and come prepared to discuss, the text selected for each session. To access the reading, participants must visit the Health Humanities Reading Group module in the Jefferson Humanities & Health organization on Canvas or the JMD 153 or the JMD 252 Asano Certificate courses on Canvas. Most Asano students are already users in these Humanities & Health Canvas courses. If that is not the case, participants may email Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

About the Health Humanities Reading Group:

The Health Humanities Reading Group gathers regularly to think critically about health as it is understood through various disciplinary perspectives, social contexts and value systems. This ongoing program is open to students, faculty and staff, and offers an informal learning environment facilitated by participants. Participants are expected to read, and come prepared to discuss, the text selected for each session.

Wednesday, December 2, 12-1PM, Jefferson Alumni Hall, Hamilton Room 505 Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students, faculty and staff.

How does racism affect all aspects of the Social Determinants of Health and what are Philadelphia's health outcomes by neighborhood?

The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) play a significant role in individual and population health outcomes. SDOH is affected by many factors. One factor is racism as it affects all aspects of SDOH. In this session, we’ll define racism, examine its history as it relates to the social determinants of health, and examine the city of Philadelphia’s health outcomes by neighborhood. 

Objectives – at the end of the session, learners will be able to: 

Define the institution of racism and its many forms, including structural racism 

List 5 components of the Social Determinants of Health 

Discuss the importance of structural competency 

Discuss examples of structural racism’s effects as a barrier to health equity 

Facilitator: Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Thomas Jefferson University.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Program Coordinator.

Monday, January 11, 12-1PM, Scott Memorial Library 200A. Lunch provided. Open to Jefferson students.

Bring your questions about how to write about the Humanities programs you attended during this academic year. Leave with fresh ideas about how you might turn your impressions into thoughtful, creative reflections as you complete your Asano portfolio. We will focus mostly on written reflections, but will also touch on other forms of creative response to the events, topics, and experiences you will be collecting as an Asano candidate. You will leave this workshop with examples of concise essays and poems that might inspire your own reflections. We will also discuss how a reflective practice could help you grow and thrive throughout your career as a healthcare professional.

Led by Megan Voeller, Director of Humanities.

Participants who attended the Asano Humanities Portfolio sessions on August 18, August 31, October 5, or November 11 for Asano credit may not count this session towards Asano credit.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, Humanities Programs Coordinator.

Wednesday, January 20, 12-1PM, Bluemle LIfe Science Building, Room 107. Lunch provided. Opent o Jefferson students, faculty, and staff.

In this Anti-Racism in Health Focus discussion, learn to define microaggressions and the steps one can take to disarm their effects.

A microaggression is an unintentional and unconscious action that can negatively affect our day-to-day human interactions. They cause real harm to individuals. There is a large amount of evidence that it can be a major factor in the creation of disparities in the healthcare environment that can ultimately lead to patient-care disparities. In this session, we will define microaggressions, its documented effects in medicine, the concept of silent collusion, and the steps one can take to disarm the effects of microaggression.

At the end of the session, the attendees will be able to

• Define microaggressions.

• Give two examples of how microaggressions affect the patient care environment.

• Define “silent collusion.”

• Name at least three techniques to address a witnessed microaggression.

Facilitator: Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Thomas Jefferson University.

Students who attended the September 21 session for Asano credit are not eligible to count this session for Asano credit.

Questions? Contact Kirsten Bowen, HUmaniteis Program Coordinator.

Monday, January 25, 5-6PM. Zoom. Open to Jefferson students.

Each month, creative arts therapists lead writing, music & arts exercises that promote stress management & burnout prevention.

Coping with Stress

In this virtual, art-based workshop, participants will engage in a variety of practices designed to reduce stress. Learn how to identify the physical and emotional symptoms of stress and how to move through them to a more grounded and relaxed state. Facilitated by art therapist Sondra Rosenberg.

About the Creative Approaches to Self-Care Series

In order to care effectively for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. This interdisciplinary series is designed to engage students in self-care practices that promote healthy stress management and burnout prevention. Workshops will address topics including how to cope with stress and anxiety, cultivate relaxation techniques, find balance and develop self-compassion.

Please note: This workshop is virtual and open to Jefferson students only; pre-registration required. A Zoom link will be provided in the Eventbrite order confirmation and the event reminder from Eventbrite, which will be emailed 48 hours before the event. If you do not receive the Zoom link, please contact Kirsten Bowen.

Co-presented with the Student Counseling Center (SCC)