MAKING MAGIC IN MEDICAL SETTINGS: HOW MAGIC MAY IMPROVE THE PATIENT-STUDENT CONNECTION THUMYAT NOE `23 Many medical students often find themselves feeling emotionally detached from the illness experiences of patients. To combat this sentiment, medical education curricula recommend that students gain clinical immersion experience early to enhance students’ awareness of the patient experience. Past clinical findings suggest that performing magic acts as part of clinical immersion experience can further improve relations between medical staff and child patients. Magic acts consist of performances that elicit enjoyment through demonstration of events appearing to be impossible. Viewing such performances may improve clinical immersion experiences as well as the relationship between health care professionals and patients. Based on these findings, researchers from Renaissance School of Medicine created MagicAids, a voluntary service learning program which facilitates engagement with pediatric patients through magic performance. Researchers also assessed MagicAids’ effectiveness in enabling proper communication between patients and caregivers. Researchers hypothesized that the MagicAid program will be effective in helping medical students develop empathy, compassion, and communication skills. During the first week of classes, researchers introduced the MagicAid program to the medical students. Students interested in the program could then attend training classes where they learned how to perform basic magic tricks. Afterwards, students conducted magic rounds on specified hospital units for patients and their families. At the end of the academic year, students reflected on their experiences and evaluated the effectiveness of the MagicAid program in a survey. Some of the questions asked students how useful they found the program to be in improving communication with the patient, reducing burnout, and helping them acclimate to the clinical immersion experience.
Most students expressed enjoyment of the MagicAid program, emphasizing that it helped develop their communication skills, empathic qualities, leadership skills, and hospital familiarity, and improved overall psychological health. For instance, out of 47 participants, 34 of them rated their experience with the MagicAids program as “Extremely satisfied.” Students considered their experiences in the program as valuable and helpful towards their future careers as physicians. Lastly, students noted that they learned how to provide proper care to pediatric patients, read body language, and effectively communicate with patients. The results of the study suggest that joyful volunteer experiences are important in improving patient care within clinical settings. Introducing similar programs to medical schools would help students develop empathy and appropriately respond to the emotional states of patients.
Figure 1 Magic acts consist of performances that elicit enjoyment through demonstration of events appearing to be impossible.
1. H.D. Pravder, et al., An innovative program using magic to provide early clinical experiences for preclinical medical students: goals, experiences, and results of the MagicAid program. Medical Science Educator 32, 111-120 (2022). doi:10.1007/s40670-021-01456-y. 2. Image retrieved from: https://unsplash.com/photos/dttmeqFUDSU
INVESTIGATING INTERLEUKIN-17 ACTIVITY: ONE STEP CLOSER TO TREATING CROHN’S DISEASE? SOORAJ SHAH `24 About 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with foreboding statistics indicating a rise in the disease’s prevalence. Crohn’s disease debilitates a patient through inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to severe pain and cramping in the abdominal area. The inflammation associated with the IBD is a response to invading pathogens by a group of proteins called cytokines. The function of cytokine interleukin-17A (IL-17A) has become the primary focus of combating this disease. A study led by Dr. Pawan Kumar, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University, focused on identifying a beneficial function of IL-17A previously not recognized in standard treatments. Previous research has shown that the body releases IL-17A when it detects microbial pathogens, signaling through other molecules such as the IL-17RA/IL-17RC receptor complex. Neutrophils and peptides, or associated white blood cells and defense molecules, respectively, then work to mitigate the pathogen. While monoclonal antibody treatment has been used to treat other inflammatory response related diseases like psoriasis, this treatment resulted in increased disease for patients with Crohn’s disease, hinting that IL-17A plays a larger role in the proper functioning of intestinal tissue. To investigate the mechanisms behind this finding, Dr. Kumar and
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his team injected IL-17A into a variety of mice models and human organoids and observed the molecule’s role in specific functions of the intestinal tract. The results of the study showed that IL-17A assists in the differentiation of stem cells into epithelial cells that play a crucial role as a barrier between bacteria and body tissue in the gut. When this divisional barrier is disrupted, it results in inflammation. Therefore, impairing IL-17A results in a decrease in epithelial cell production and an increase in observed inflammation in Crohn’s disease. Dr. Kumar believes that a relationship between immune cells and stem cells exists, such that the integrity of the intestinal mucosa (moist tissue) is maintained in order to hinder inflammation. Crohn’s disease is currently incurable; however, the study of IL-17A uncovered a crosslink between its potential functions in inducing or preventing inflammation in the intestinal tract. Finding a balance of treatment so that certain functions of IL-17A are preserved while others are impaired is the next important step for future research, bringing a reliable and efficient cure to Crohn’s one step closer. Figure 1 IL-17A releases peptides and neutrophils in order to fight bacteria in the intestinal tract. 1. P. Kumar, et al., IL-17RA-signaling in Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells induces expression of transcription factor ATOH1 to promote secretory cell lineage commitment. Immunity 55, 237-253 (2021). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2021.12.016. 2. Image retrieved from: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1596051827487-7b3d6f6df842?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80
