Third Annual David S. Svahn Humanities in Medicine Memorial Lecture Delivered by Dr. Michael Flanagan

The third annual David S. Svahn Humanities in Medicine Memorial Lecture was held on Friday, May 15, 2026 at the Clark Auditorium at Bassett Medical Center. This year’s guest lecturer, Michael Flanagan, MD, delivered an address titled “All Roads Lead to Rome: Lessons from a Medical School Mentor… and the Italian Renaissance Artists.”

Dr. Flanagan is Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, and Professor of Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine’s University Park Campus in State College, PA. He also serves as Vice Chair and Medical Director at this campus, where he has worked as an academic physician for many years, seeing patients clinically, while also teaching and mentoring students and residents.

During this lecture, Dr. Flanagan discussed a recent trip he took to Italy with pre-medical undergraduate students and how these travels tie in with mentorship in medicine, how the humanities can be integrated into medical education, and how Italian Renaissance artists may have demonstrated characteristics of impactful mentors.

“Incorporating humanities and the arts in medical education clearly preserves empathy,” said Dr. Flanagan during his lecture, “It also clearly improves visual diagnostic skills, something that’s really necessary for almost every specialty. There have been a lot of studies with dermatology, pathology, ophthalmology for retinal exams, where they have clearly shown an improvement in visual diagnostic skills for the students and residents involved in humanities… it also can foster resilience, team work, and it gives balanced perspectives and appreciation for other views.”

Going artist by artist, Dr. Flanagan discussed the lives and works of legends like Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Ghiberti, Bernini, and Brunelleschi, before analyzing the hardships they faced and the relationships they forged.

Dr. Flanagan’s full speech can be viewed here:

The Svahn lecture series is presented as a tribute to Dr. David S. Svahn, a revered figure in the Cooperstown medical community who dedicated his life to instilling a profound sense of compassion and human connection in generations of physicians. He devoted the entirety of his 30-year career in medicine to Bassett Medical Center. It is made possible through an endowment from his daughter, Dr. Jennifer Svahn, a practicing surgeon, and her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Nicastro.

Members of the Svahn family and representatives of Bassett Healthcare Network stand with Dr. Michael Flanagan after his lecture. They hold the Svahn lecture plaque that now includes Dr. Flanagan’s name and a commemorative baseball bat presented to Dr. Flanagan with gratitude.