https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/issue/feed Ars Medica 2026-01-23T09:44:39+00:00 Ars Medica Editorial Board Uzo.Alexander@camh.ca Open Journal Systems <p><em>Ars Medica</em>&nbsp;is a biannual literary journal, started in 2004, that explores the interface between the arts and healing, and examines what makes medicine an art. <em>Ars Medica</em> remains one of a handful of medical literary journals in Canada and worldwide, in the rapidly developing international field of the humanities in healthcare.</p> <p><em>Ars Medica</em>&nbsp;allows a place for dialogue, meaning-making, and the representation of experiences of the body, health, wellness, and encounters with the medical system. Content includes narratives from patients and health care workers, medical history, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. We also include sections on writing by and about children, and writing about international health. These are voices that are often silenced in healthcare.</p> https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/2771 The Illusion of Resolution 2025-07-25T00:49:51+00:00 Joanne Sinai joanne.sinai@gmail.com <p>These photographs are inspired by the electron microscopy images I remember from med school.&nbsp; They combine objects found in nature and/or handmade pieces created by other artists.</p> 2025-07-29T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 Ars Medica https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/2749 The Natural Order of Things: Nature as a Metaphor for the Body, Illness, and Renewal 2025-06-30T15:47:07+00:00 Allison Crawford allison.crawford@utoronto.ca 2025-07-29T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 Ars Medica https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/2647 Will It Ever Be Enough? 2025-07-30T06:14:27+00:00 Justin Cordova jcordova91@me.com <p>A US anesthesiology resident reflects on his experience while completing medical training within the psychiatric ward of a state prison system. Correctional healthcare is a vitally important part of the rehabilitative process for inmates, particularly those who suffer from mental health disorders. This narrative essay represents one physician's efforts to improve the outcomes for his patients, while also questioning the effectiveness of the limited care he was able to provide.&nbsp;</p> 2026-01-23T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Ars Medica https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/2619 Death of a Prairie Boy 2025-01-03T23:44:11+00:00 Judy Dercksen judydercksen@shaw.ca <p>As a family physician with lived experience of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, C-PTSD, I seemed to attract a patient panel rich with similarly neurodiverse personalities. Marginalized members of communities require more time and also trauma-informed care, but it is only after I tended to my own mental health that I was truly able to appreciate the need for latitude when it comes to managing the healthcare of those who have experienced a lifetime of health inequity. "Death of a Prairie Boy" reflects how past and current trauma affects judgement and the ability to manage chronic illness. </p> 2025-09-12T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 Ars Medica https://ars-medica.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/2613 Prognosis in Passing 2025-01-02T12:28:50+00:00 Kate E. Johnson kateelisejohnson@gmail.com <p>"Prognosis in Passing" offers a narrative exploration of the altered sensory experience of a prolonged hospital stay. The piece examines how the distinct rhythms and cadences of medical personnel transform into a unique language within the confines of the hospital ward, shaping the patient's emotional landscape and reflecting the unspoken anxieties surrounding their prognosis. So understood, the piece illuminates the subtle semiotics of the hospital environment and offers a poignant reflection on the profound impact of illness on the human psyche.</p> 2025-07-24T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 Ars Medica