THE BODY ELECTRIC
CREATIVE WRITING BY UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL STUDENTS
What is TBE?
Essentially, whatever we make it to be! The idea is to start with a blog, an online journal if you will. This will be a place to which UMN Medical School students will be able to submit works of creative writing – stories, poems and essays. Other students will be able to read TBE submissions, and hopefully this will lead to discussion regarding the pieces themselves and any themes tangential to them. The ultimate goal is to foster a culture of creativity, self-expression and growth through discussion and evaluation among peers.
Why should I care?
Medicine is the most humanistic of professions, and our school is located in a community that whole-heartedly embraces the arts. One of our peers (It was Javi, there is no HIPAA here!) pointed out to me that physicians have a long history as writers, and I would argue that the Twin Cities area has an equally rich tradition. Aside from this, isn’t The Story itself integral to medicine? As physicians, we will constantly be teasing the thread of a medical story from the jumbled narratives of patients, and will then have to frame this story for others. In this way, developing the skills of a writer-storyteller will enable students to become more thoughtful and proficient physician-storytellers. Additionally, if you have always wanted to write but would like feedback on your writing, this is a wonderful opportunity! However, TBE is not a training service for peer HPI or SNAPPS improvement (although that should go in my good idea folder) and participation is not meant to fill a line on a resume. TBE is primarily a place to share your stories for your own personal fulfillment as a human being, and it is also a place to enjoy the stories of your peers.
Logistics
We are starting small. We are going to begin in a focused area, and do that thing very well – UMN Med Student writing posted on an online blog – before expanding participation eligibility or media.
Two head editors (Neil and Aaron) who keep the blog updated, formatted (not in Wingdings II font), review submissions and tend to the boring stuff. At least 2 or 3 other people to serve as editors who review submissions, make comments, etc. Treasurer, Graphic Design. This organizational structure is extremely plastic and open to discussion. I want everybody (or at least a simple democratic majority) to be happy about this.
Any UMN Med School student can submit and participate at any time. This is not in any way shape or form a competition, judgment of intelligence or a proving ground for writing ability. However, we aim to publish quality pieces, so the goal is to have at least 2 or 3 editors review every piece and provide criticism and only publish when the piece is ready. Just like medicine is collaborative, so is art! Don’t be afraid to submit and put yourself out there. The whole point is to get feedback so that you can grow.
We are working on the student group incorporation process, but we can start publishing whenever we are ready. Target launch date in early March if we can, with submissions beginning weekly or biweekly – completely volume dependent.
