The connect between arts and sciences has always been a subject that’s been discoursed upon with a lot of fervor. With humanities being labelled as an emotion-rooted theme and the sciences being governed by thought, the convergence was always debatable, but rarely deniable.
Ultimately, why the merger between humanities and it’s reason-based contemporary is significant is because they’re both schools of thought with the same intent – to understand the human world around us. The means to reach this understanding, and the audiences might be different, but the end-goal stays the same. If science applies logic to decode concepts and theories, art paves its way by giving these reasonings a better medium to express themselves. Both have their own unique spin-offs, and when applied mindfully – create a world of their own.
Keeping the same tenets in mind, we got a chance to have a word with one such business founder, who in her teens – created a holistic space for believers carrying the same sentiment.
For 15 year old Alexandra Chu, who grew up never knowing the answer to what she wanted to be when she grew up – MedCreate was the ideal home ground, for not just her but many others like her who felt the same way.
A space that’s now seen as an ideal merger between the research and thoughtscapes of medicine and the imagination of humanities, MedCreate was founded in July 2020 as an international youth-led organisation that seeks to bridge the boundaries between the two fields. Run by young women just like Alexandra, the collective is a not-for-profit that acts as a unified space for all of those whose answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up?” would proudly be “ a doctor, a scientist, an author, and an artist. “
Read through to learn more about this incredible founder’s story –
Alexandra’s story, in her own words –
My name is Alexandra Chu, and I’m a high school student in New York. In July of 2020, I founded MedCreate, an international nonprofit organization that works to merge the worlds of medicine and creativity as well as foster a community of students who are enthusiastic about both science and the humanities.
Why is creativity in medicine important?
Creativity promotes empathy and communication in medicine, which are encouraged by the arts. When one reads and writes pieces of literature, s/he gains different perspectives and understanding of how others see the world. This is especially important because anyone can be a patient. This includes children, parents, politicians, teachers, other doctors, and everyone in between. Engaging with patients is a big part of working in medicine, so understanding them and being able to empathize with them will make the job that much easier and enjoyable. Sir William Osler, one of the most famous and influential physicians in modern history, once said, “It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.” His words from over a century ago still ring true today.
Medicine has a long history of creativity, and it has a creative future ahead of it as well.
The fourteen year hitch, and making it through –
The initial days of setting up MedCreate were a lot harder than I thought they would be. There were days of excitement and fun, but a lot of those days were filled with self-doubt. However, I feel that I did the best I could, so if I went back in time to those initial days, I don’t think I would change anything.
The most challenging obstacle I faced when I started my organization was my lack of experience. In the fourteen years before I founded MedCreate, I had never learned anything related to business or the information necessary to become an entrepreneur. Because of this, I was constantly worried about making mistakes and leading my teammates around in fruitless circles.
What a day looks like in the life of MedCreate’s founder –
The first thing I do in the morning is check my emails and messages from my teammates and other partners. I typically spend the next few hours planning our upcoming initiatives and working on public relations. After lunch, I often meet virtually with partners, sponsors, and other business associates. I would then start brainstorming new projects as well as continue working on forthcoming initiatives. Virtual meetings with teammates are usually right before dinner, and lastly, I review member applications before going to bed.
The origins of making two opposites merge –
When I was younger, people would always ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. However, I could never decide due to my seemingly contradictory interests. Some of the members in my family are in dentistry, so I often considered following in their footsteps. However, I had also been a writer, artist, dancer, and music producer for years, and I wondered if I should pursue a career in the humanities instead. As I grew older, I kept thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Unable to choose between science and the arts, I began thinking of ways I could merge them instead.
The big old debate on art vs. sciences : How MedCreate finds it’s middleground?
People are often told to choose between science and the humanities because there is no in between, but this isn’t true, which is why MedCreate is seeking to break the boundaries between the sciences and the humanities and merge the two fields.
When the pandemic hit last year, I thought that it would be the perfect time to show the world what I had learned: science and the arts were far more connected than most people thought. Armed with this information, I founded MedCreate so that I would never need to make a choice between a career in medicine and a career in the humanities. One day, I know that I’ll be able to proudly tell everyone, “I’m a doctor, a scientist, an author, and an artist.”
MedCreate hopes to inspire the next generation of healthcare leaders to learn more about being creative in the industry.
Final Outtakes – What it’s been like to build so much, so early :
My journey as a young entrepreneur has been unexpected and rewarding. Despite lots of planning and working, I never know where my organization will go next. We constantly create partnerships we thought we would never make and pull off projects we thought we would never accomplish. Every day, I wake up to see my organization a little bit bigger or a little bit better than the night before, and it’s always surprising to see no matter how many times it has occurred. This journey has had a lot of ups and downs and a lot of twists and turns, but I’m still incredibly proud of it.
Being able to meet and impact so many remarkable people is such an amazing and fulfilling thing, and I’m truly honored to have had these experiences.
