UCLA Health
The Robert G. Fenley Writing Awards: Solicited Articles
Gold
When he discovered that a seven-volume atlas long regarded as a preeminent anatomic resource had been created by avowed Nazis, its pages filled with vivid illustrations drawn from the bodies of victims of Nazi terror, Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar couldn’t move past his revulsion. Instead, the internationally renowned electrophysiologist and director of the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center resolved to marshal his UCLA colleagues in a decade-long effort to pull off what no one thought was possible — rendering the ill-begotten atlas obsolete by creating a superior atlas and making it available to medical professors around the world via online, open-access publishing. In two parts, our entry traces the origins of this journey and what it ultimately became: an even more ambitious initiative known as Amara Yad (a combination of Sanskrit and Hebrew translating to “the immortal hand”). Amara Yad leverages scientific and technological advances to map the entire human body while educating medical students and others about moral stains on the profession and promoting corrective measures that repair damage, restore trust, and instill in the next generation of physicians their sacred duty to ethically serve their patients.
What was the most impactful part of your entry?
Learning the vile history behind Topographische Anatomie des Menschen (Atlas of Topographical and Applied Human Anatomy), the seven-volume anatomic atlas published from 1937 to 1960 by the anatomist and avowed Nazi Eduard Pernkopf, it was hard not to feel the same sense of disgust that overcame Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar, the central figure in our entry. Through multiple interviews with Dr. Shivkumar, as well as with the colleagues and outside experts with whom he interacted along the way, his moral outrage and determination to right this egregious wrong came through in a major way, accentuating the already powerful nature of the story. The impact also comes in the difficult task he set out to achieve; the determination and commitment he showed in leading an effort that drew many skeptics; and the lofty aspirations he and his colleagues have to turn this into an initiative addressing other breaches of the doctor/patient trust.
What challenge did you overcome?
As the decision to turn this into a two-part piece totaling approximately 7,000 words suggests, this was a broad, many-faceted topic. To sufficiently tell the story, we needed to recount the Pernkopf atlas background and the moral quandary that ensued once the history was revealed, leading physicians and ethicists alike to grapple with whether a resource invaluable for certain procedures should continue to be used. We wanted to humanize Dr. Shivkumar, going into both his professional and personal background to help explain his response. We also needed to help the lay reader understand why an anatomic roadmap is so critical in an era that increasingly emphasizes minimally invasive interventional procedures; and touch on the arduous process of producing a Pernkopf replacement. And finally, we needed to explain the grander ambitions for Amara Yad, including providing background on other violations of medical ethics. While such a compelling story in certain ways “writes itself,” bringing all of the disparate elements together in a cohesive narrative was the greatest challenge.
Contact:
David Greenwald
dgreenwald@mednet.ucla.edu