From the beginning, I knew that I wanted my Capstone project to be medically-focused and relevant to the health industry. At first, I researched corpus callosotomy patients in depth because it was a topic that was extremely exciting to me. I watched the experiments and read the scientific articles, but I found that these procedures weren’t widely used anymore. I pivoted to medical humanities and researched literature that related to people’s experiences with hospitals and health. This topic is closely related to bioethics, which is how I came to read more about the field and the issues bioethicists must consider. In the end, I combined my interest in analyzing fictional media and my passion for medicine into a project where I could think about health issues from the viewpoint of my favorite shows and movies. 

I launched my blog, Cogito Ergo Curat (I Think, Therefore I Care), to bridge popular media and bioethics. My initial posts analyzed the autonomy of Dr. House in House MD and the definition of personhood in Blade Runner. Through this project, I conducted in-depth research on complex topics like physician-assisted suicide, end-of-life care, and philosophical dilemmas such as the non-identity problem. I practiced writing and research skills, especially when it came to extracting and summarizing complex topics from medical-jargon-heavy articles. In addition to these skills, I analyzed complex ideas from multiple viewpoints and reached  my own evidence-based opinions on topics that previously seemed too advanced for me to contribute to.

I met and talked with many professionals in the field, and their conversations were 

invaluable to me and this project. Reaching out and exploring bioethics has allowed me to cement my understanding of the medical field, which I aim to enter professionally, and has also given me the opportunity to grow outside of my comfort zone.