From the Editor

Iyesatta Massaquoi Emeli, MD, MPH, FACEP

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening!

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Fall/Winter 2026 edition of MUSE, the newsletter of the ACEP Section of Medical Humanities.

We have much to celebrate this year! At ACEP26 in Chicago, Resolution 17, jointly submitted by the Medical Humanities and Wellness Sections, was passed by the ACEP Council, formally recognizing the importance of the arts and humanities in emergency medicine. This is an affirmation of the work so many of our members have championed over the years.

Recognition is a powerful thing. To be seen, to be heard, to have one's experiences acknowledged—this is fundamental to the human experience. And perhaps nowhere is this more important than in medicine, where we encounter people at their most vulnerable.

I am reminded of the words of Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing, who, in speaking about writing and healing, observed:

“Writing can very much be about healing in that it’s a way of witnessing. It’s a way of saying, I see you, and you didn’t go unnoticed.”

What a beautiful way to describe the work of the medical humanities! Through our stories, our poetry, and our art, we bear witness. We give voice to experiences that might otherwise go unspoken. We remind ourselves, and one another, of the humanity that lies at the heart of our profession.

This year's award-winning contributions reflect that spirit beautifully.

Our 2026 Creative Writing Award winner in poetry, Dr. Leeanne Fagan, offers The Butterfly Doctor, a deeply personal reflection on her experience living with lupus while practicing medicine. She writes of the invisible burdens of chronic illness, the complexities of being both physician and patient, and the additional challenges of navigating the health care system as a Black woman. Beneath the strength and resilience she demonstrates a simple, deeply human desire: to be seen. Her poem reminds us that behind every diagnosis, every professional title, and every outward display of strength is a person whose story deserves to be understood.

In Dear Dolores, winner of our Creative Writing Award in prose, Dr. Rachel Kowalsky brings humor, insight, and considerable literary imagination to the seemingly ordinary task of medical documentation. Through an exchange between a physician and a medical records administrator, she explores the power of language and the responsibility we bear in choosing the words with which we describe our patients. Her work asks us to consider whether our clinical documentation truly captures the people and experiences entrusted to our care. It is a delightful and thought-provoking reminder that words matter.

Our Visual Arts Award goes to Dr. Anne Rempel for Examining Deaths in the Presence of Law Enforcement. The work takes us beyond the traditional boundaries of clinical medicine and invites engagement with a difficult subject at the intersection of health care and society. We congratulate Dr. Rempel on this important recognition and invite you to experience her award-winning work through the link included in this edition.

Beyond these creative contributions, our section continues to grow and explore new opportunities. At our annual meeting in Chicago, members discussed the ongoing development of our white paper on the role of the humanities in emergency medicine, an upcoming webinar series examining the moral and emotional consequences of hallway medicine, and opportunities for greater collaboration and engagement. You will find the meeting minutes and photographs from ACEP26 in this edition.

As we celebrate the passage of Resolution 17, I hope we will also reflect on what this recognition represents. The humanities are not simply an addition to the practice of medicine. They offer us ways to examine our experiences, question our assumptions, and better understand the people we serve.

As always, I am grateful to our contributors and to each of you who continues to make this section such a wonderful community. I encourage you to continue to share your stories, poems, essays, photographs, and artwork with us.

Let us continue to create, to share and to bear witness.

Let us continue to see.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with inspiration, creativity, and joy!