University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College junior, Serena Bhaskar, combined her passion for creative writing with her interest in the sciences to create the interdisciplinary humanities journal, The Capsule. Unifying health care and medicine with the creative arts, Bhaskar founded the publication in 2023 and serves as editor-in-chief alongside managing editor, Karla Evangelista De La Rosa.
鈥淚 wanted there to be a platform for sharing authentic and impactful work,鈥� said Bhaskar. 鈥淲e want to use the humanities to reduce stigmas around health topics to promote reflection and awareness among health care professionals and patients.鈥�
CREATING THE CAPSULE
Bhaskar was inspired to create the undergraduate journal after completing the Honors course Narratives of Health, Illness, and Wellness. Impressed by the curricular emphasis on active listening skills in health care professionals to best focus upon patient stories and improve outcomes, Bhaskar became interested in translating this practice into an accessible arts space.
She explained, 鈥淚 really wanted to highlight personal health narratives. It鈥檚 really important that patients, caregivers, and students who鈥檝e interacted with health through other roles, such as shadowing and volunteering, be able to share their thoughts and ideas, too.鈥�
When initially putting together the editorial team for The Capsule, Bhaskar sought mentorship from juniors and seniors she looked up to. 鈥淭hey were amazing editors and designers and I reached out to them first, hoping they would guide me and give me some ideas,鈥� Bhaskar said. 鈥淎 lot of them ended up joining our team and they made the journal look absolutely amazing!鈥�
CONTRIBUTOR STORIES
Volume II submissions are currently open and The Capsule鈥檚 editorial team is excited to publish new work. . For this next issue, The Capsule鈥檚 editors are hoping to interact even further with their contributors.
鈥淢oving forward, we鈥檙e really looking to expand,鈥� said Evangelista De La Rosa. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to get more people involved, including more forms of multimedia for Volume II. We want students to submit creative work in any form that really speaks to them.鈥�
When asked about the response from readers to Volume I of The Capsule, Evangelista De La Rosa exclaimed, 鈥淭hey loved it! I heard a lot of people saying the design of the journal was really great. Even I was blown away 鈥� the entire composition was so well thought-out. It looked so amazing.鈥�
Volume I was published in April 2024 and included artists like Arelis Rodriguez Martinez, who contributed a short story. 鈥淲ith my piece, I wanted to highlight that you can have a disorder and it doesn鈥檛 limit you,鈥� said Rodriguez Martinez. 鈥淚 was inspired by my personal journey to just write and let other people know they are not their diagnosis and that they are still a person. The editors of The Capsule helped me refine my short story, 鈥楤ipolar,鈥� to make that empowering statement come alive."
Rodriguez Martinez encourages students to submit their work to Volume II of The Capsule to reach others in the community. 鈥淵ou really don鈥檛 know who you鈥檙e going to impact,鈥� she said. 鈥淵our personal health story will unite others in feeling seen and heard.鈥�
To learn more about the medical humanities journal or how to contribute, .