Neurons and Shakespeare do not mix - or at least not according to most.But, some Brandeis students deviate from the norm. Out of the 89 pre-meds seeking admission to medical school for the fall of 2003, 28 majored in humanities or social sciences. Viveka Prakash '03, has found herself in this minority of pre-med students enrolled heavily in humanities courses.

Prakash is concentrating in biology, neuroscience and creative writing. Although Prakash says her situation at Brandeis is not typical, precedent suggests otherwise. An Oct. 28 article from CNN.com states that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was a surgeon, American poet William Carlos Williams delivered 3,000 babies as a pediatrician and Thomas Browne, Francois Rabelais and Anton Chekhov were all practicing physicians. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, wrote "The Hippocratic Oath."

"Creative writing provides me with a therapeutic and intellectual outlet from my science-heavy course load," Prakash said. "It also keeps me aware of a larger world and of the diversity among human beings, which will serve me well as a medical student and physician."

A popular program in which Brandeis participates, is one in which students can apply to Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York City at the beginning of their sophomore year of college. This program, according to the Assistant Dean Andrew Simmons, is intended for students who desire to becoming physicians, but do not want to go through the tedious science and pre-med track at the undergraduate level.

"The idea is to attract students who are not the heavy-duty pre-med. They are looking for students who are not science majors and are only going to be taking biology and general chemistry," Simmons said.

Simmons added that the summer after their sophomore year, the students acceptanced have to take crash courses in physics and organic chemistry. Also, during this summer, these students have opportunities to observe doctors in the hospital at Mt. Sinai.

Simmons stated, "the students have to make a case in the application to Mt. Sinai for how they are going to have a full-bodied undergraduate academic experience that is not heavily science-oriented ... they probably ought to do a semester of math."

He also emphasized that the administration at Mt. Sinai wants to know what these students are going to do with their academics at Brandeis in terms of majors, minors and studying abroad options.

During her first and sophomore years, Prakash explored a variety of Brandeis courses - she studied Spanish, linguistics and anthropology, until she realized that health care and English were her true passions. Unable to major in English, Prakash discovered that creative writing would be relatively easy to fit into her
schedule.

Coordinator of Women and Health Initiative and Health Professions adviser Jennifer Lewis assures pre-meds that a major in either humanities or social sciences will not compromise their medical aspirations.

"Medical schools are not looking for you to be one major over another," Lewis said. Aside from completing the requirements, her only advice is to "be passionate about your studies, whatever they may be."

According to Lewis, Prakash is on the right track in believing that her sampling of humanities courses and concentration in creative writing will serve her well as a physician. Medical literature, such as the Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association, include the writings of doctors and are respected among professionals in the field.

Jenny Stella '05, a pre-med who is double majoring in biology and comparative literature, agrees that "humanities are extremely important to a medical career." She said she "ascribes to be a 'Renaissance' person - one who has some education in a broad variety of topics and is interested in a broad variety of things."
According to Lewis, medical schools are "looking for mature people that have broad perspective."

This year, as a Roosevelt Fellow, Prakash has found that many first-year students feel that as pre-med students, they must major in a science.
"This is a rampant myth and I do all I can to dispel it, as do the pre-med advisors here at Brandeis," Prakash said.

Prakash continued by saying, "Fully explore everything Brandeis has to offer, since there are truly remarkable departments outside of the sciences that it would be a shame to miss out on." Prakash encourages students to "follow your passion."

Jeremy Scher '03, agrees. "I would tell those interested in pre-med and humanities to pursue whatever it is you are passionate in. Do not let advisers or professors tell you that you cannot achieve something because of statistics and grades," Scher said.

Scher, a pre-med student, is concentrating in American studies. As far as the workload is concerned, Scher believes that the complex science and humanities courses are not an overwhelming combination.

"It is not difficult to balance humanities and the pre-med requirements," Scher said. "It simply requires a clear head and good time management skills."
Both Prakash and Scher say they have found that their unique college experiences will be advantageous.

"I will eventually become a well-rounded doctor, knowledgeable of medical science and other studies," Scher said.

"I have capitalized on the full liberal arts scope that Brandeis has to offer and have been able to explore more facets of my own talents and creativity," Prakash said. "I have learned a lot more about the world and about people and therefore am able to fit my science background into a larger context. In terms of being a physician when my job will require not only open-mindedness, but an ability to understand people and make connections beyond my knowledge of medicine."

-Elana Margulies '04 and Yana Litovsky '05 contributed to this article