Table of Contents

Medical Education as a Rite of Passage. Functions of writing for medical students. Why Study Medical Student Poetry? Living Anatomy: The Experience of Cadaver Dissection. Am I a doctor Yet? Becoming a Physician. It’s not only what’s in your brain, it’s what’s in your heart: becoming a physician part II. Oh Doctor, doctor, what can I do? You are my patient…let us take flight! If they don’t care, why should I? Student-patient relationships II. Tickling the conscience: the intersection of medicine and social justice. I am afraid as I ponder that inevitable end: death and dying. Is this the way of life? Reflections on love and life. Strangers in a strange land: what matters to medical students on their journey and how they tell about it. Postscript: writing rings around death.

About the Author

PhD, Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Director, Program in Medical Humanities and Arts, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, USA

Reviews

'Johanna Shapiro has made a unique contribution to medical humanities and to medical education. As a medical educator that has been close to medical students for over 30 years, I found it shocking to see how deeply students are affected by common encounters of patient care. We think we remember what it was like to be a medical student. These poems, laid out with an incredible taxonomy by Shapiro, reveal that we have forgotten the intensity of the emotions of first difficult experiences with patients, and the abuse sometimes rendered by arrogant faculty. This book makes a major contribution to literature in medicine, but more importantly, it should be read by every medical educator that has the privilege of teaching medical students. This book will change how you look at students and make you a better faculty.' Joseph E Scherger, MD, MPH, Clinical Professor, University of California, San Diego and Medical Director, AmeriChoice, USA 'Johanna Shapiro writes from the heart of medical education with an abiding belief in the transformative, healing power of language. Her thoughtful analysis of these extraordinary poems written by medical students gives us greater clarity and compassion for what they experience on the way to becoming doctors, and urges all of us to create a more healing environment for that journey.' Delese Wear, PhD, Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, USA 'Excellent - meaningful - fascinating - wonderful stuff! Love it! I have longed for such a book. The poems are stunning, revealing, and even shocking. Much to discuss and argue in each and every chapter.' Judy Schaefer, RNC, MA, East Coast Poetry Editor, Pulse and Poetry Editor, International Journal of Healthcare And Humanities 'Rarely heard are the raw voices of medical students who are beginning to confront the emotional challenges of their curriculum. Their words have much to teach their professors, their mentors in the medical profession, their families who sent them off to medical school, and the public who will be treated by them in the coming years. Shapiro's sensitive and thoughtful analysis guides and inspires us to better respond to the needs of our students.' Robert Leonard, PhD, Adjunct Professor Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California Irvine School of Medicine, USA 'A fascinating insight into the ways in which writing poetry can promote reflective practice...an essential addition to the growing scholarship on the role of the humanities within professional health care practice. It is to be warmly recommended.' NURSING ETHICS 'This book is a unique addition to medical education literature - 4 Stars!' Doody Book Reviews