Some examples of literary works that La Pluma members have successfully published on local and national levels are below.
Meghan O’Connor, current Duke medical student, published her reflection “The sophia and phronesis of modern medicine” in Hektoen International after La Pluma feedback, submitting it to their 2022-2023 Medical Student Essay Contest.
Tamar Chukrun, MD, MBA, former Duke medical student and current resident in Internal Medicine-Psychiatry program at Duke, published her article, “By Perpetuating Substance Use Disorder Stigma, Public Housing Policy Causes Harm,” in Health Affairs Forefront after getting guidance from La Pluma about which journals might be interested in her work.
Brian Quaranta, MD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke has published a number of medical humanities pieces after get feedback from La Pluma:
- “The Backward Glance,” a poem, in Christian Journal for Global Health
- “Scylla and Charybdis,” a poem, in Practical Radiation Oncology in March 2023
- “On Teaching Narrative Oncology” was published in Practical Radiation Oncology in December 2023.
- “Bad Medicine is What I Need?” in The Oncologist.
Kyle Geurink, MD, a former resident in internal medicine at Duke, presented his soulful recounting of a difficult night, “ICU Delirium,” to La Pluma prior to its publication in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education.
Nathan Swanson, a staff assistant in Duke’s Population Research Institute, presented La Pluma with the tale of how a neighbor’s illness and untimely death compelled him to pursue a passion of his. He submitted the story to a columnist in the Wall Street Journal, which prompted an interview and report on his story.
Govind Krishnan, MD, formerly a resident in the medicine/pediatrics program at Duke, has published a number of pieces after editing through La Pluma, including:
- “Watching Cricket with My Father,” a thought-provoking essay on the nature of hope in Pulse: Voices From the Heart of Medicine.
- “Lessons from ‘Spring and All'” in the Fall 2021 issue of VOICES.
- “Pink and Yellow” in Hektoen International: A Journal Of Medical Humanities.
Lindsey Chew, a current Duke medical student, and Jenna Hynes, MD, a resident in OB/GYN, have had pieces originally presented to La Pluma that have been accepted for publication in the Fall 2020 issue of VOICES.
