COVID-19: A Medical Time Capsule

Student:  Anna Victoria Bustos
Instructor: Harris Kornstein

My project, COVID-19: A Medical Time Capsule, reflects on how my understanding of health grew throughout this semester from a biological, physical definition to a deeper human, social, and cultural one. While my Physiology and Medical Sciences major has helped me build a background on the clinical side of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically referring to its transmission or its effects, this course has helped me reflect on it through a new perspective shaped by personal experiences, community, memories, grief, and other emotions. By building my digital COVID-19 time capsule, I was given the opportunity to mix scientific knowledge with creative artifacts and visuals, which shows that health isn’t just one universal experience, and there’s so many different aspects and details that make it up. The general structure of this project also represents health humanities ideas that we explored within the class, particularly the importance of narrative, visual culture, and understanding illness. My final completed website helped me see how health humanities and the medical field complement each other so well, which also reinforced my belief that in order to be a successful, well-rounded healthcare provider, we need to learn how to listen to our patients and care beyond a clinical setting. I’m honored to have my work featured on the PAH Student Projects website, especially since it being a public platform aligns well with a primary goal of health humanities by making learning more accessible for a larger audience.