Reflecting on the courageous who have left imprints on our soul by Miki Simic

We carry them in our thoughts and in our prayers. It is the unspoken in the medical field. The hesitation you feel, to show at times, you hurt for them, with them, through them. The patient unaware that emotion is viable and present when treating, caring, or guiding steps to an end, no matter what that may be. Their physical bodies are present at the appointments, but their souls are searching elsewhere for meaning. The “why” of illness.

Read more

We’re Invisible, Too: Showing Respect for Healthcare Workers by Cheryl Bailey

A retired gynecologic oncologist reflects on her own career and realizes how watercolor artwork can allow for even healthcare providers to be seen.

Read more

The Healing Power of Empathy: Does it Exist? Can it be Acquired?

In this reflection, a retired surgeon examines the research findings of evidence-based medicine to uncover whether empathy, in addition to the principles and practice of narrative medicine, can facilitate deeper healing.

Read more

How to Write About Cancer: How Poetry Can Break the Rules by writer Lynne Byler

Recently, I read Adam Conner’s short story “How to Write about Your Cancer” (Fall 2022 Intima) with amusement and recognition. And if I transform the rules in it to a scorecard, my poem, “Minds Go Where Bodies Can't” ends in the red.

Read more

The Importance of Providing Compassionate Palliative and End-of-Life Care

A writer reflects on her own mother’s experience with death and dying and argues for the greater recognition of palliative care in the clinical encounter.

Read more

Objectivity versus Art: A Reflection on Technology in Medicine

A physician-novelist ponders the troubling implications of the increasing technologization of health care and its encroachment on the art of medicine.

Read more

Let Me Speak My Free Mind into You: Seeking Genuine Connection in Medical Practice

A medical student examines two poems published in this journal in order to advocate for genuine connection in medical practice between patients and physicians.

Read more

Waiting: A reflection on anticipating a diagnosis by poet RN Amy Haddad

A nurse, poet, and educator ponders the lot of patients—one that often includes loss of identity, dislocation in time and space, and of course, waiting.

Read more