A neurologist meditates on his “medical metamorphosis” into a physician—and how poetry served as a lifeline for inspiration and growth throughout it all.
Read moreUsing Laughter to Face the Darkness
A psychiatrist contemplates what can be learned from success and failure—and how laughter sometimes is the best medicine.
Read moreI Am Moments / I Am Nature
Through collage art and poetry, a pathologist comes to understand that our anatomical selves are made up of the same building blocks that comprise all life on earth.
Read moreCaregiving: When the Patient is Your Mother. A Reflection by poet Brian Ascalon Roley
A writer revisits his childhood memories and, in doing so, reflects on the evolving relationship between parent and child as both grow older.
Read moreTaking Him Apart Took Me Apart, Too: On medical school and anatomy class by Chrissie DyBuncio
A former physician reflects on the rite of passage undergone by all medical students: cadaver dissections in anatomy lab.
Read moreDesensitization to the Face of Death: A reflection by poet and medical student Catherine Read
A medical student examines the desensitization that imbues the study and practice of medicine—and advocates against it.
Read moreOn Brian Ascalon Roley’s "Caregiving"
A pediatric emergency physician reflects on the burning intensity found at the heart of caregiving.
Read moreLeading Change in Healthcare Through a Healing Nature
A pharmacist fiercely advocates for lasting change via a healing framework.
Read moreA Moment of Intimacy
A writer questions the dynamics that shape—as well as disguise—not only the clinical encounter, but also personhood, identity, and intimacy.
Read moreRepeat After Me: Questions about the brain in transition by writer Nancy Huggett
A caregiver reflects on the orienting power of repetition. and how such repetition allows us to anchor ourselves within our lived narratives.
Read moreDescribing Cancer with Imagery and Metaphors by Sarah Smith, MD
A family physician considers the importance of metaphors and imagery when grappling with life-threatening, unimaginable illness.
Read moreThe Lost Patient Narrative in our era of "EHR-Centered" Medicine: A Reflection by family medicine physicianJacqueline Redmer
A family medicine physician reflects on the true costs for the patient and the clinician of the increasing digitization of modern medicine.
Read moreOn "Where Are You, Mary Oliver?" A pediatric ER doctor contemplates what two poets taught her about healing
A pediatric emergency physician reflects on the enduring power and comfort of Mary Oliver’s poetry during difficult times.
Read moreSurprising Behavior in the Pandemic
A palliative care nurse analyzes poetry and studio art created in response to the ongoing pandemic—and appreciates how these different pieces generate surprising parallels.
Read moreWaiting: 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 morePoems Help Us Deal with Change and Choice by Anne Corey
A writer advocates for the power of poetry—as well as its curious ability to make us better accept uncertainty, mystery, and even ourselves.
Read moreThe Gifts Reserved for Age: A Reflection by Richard Scott Morehead
A professor of medicine reminisces about his former student, whose work appears alongside his own in this very journal.
Read morePoets on Poets: A Look Back and Forward by Ellen Goldsmith
A poet reflects on what companion poets and their poetry can offer us in the face of unexpected illness and loss.
Read moreThe Wisdom of the Pomegranate: A Reflection on Poetry and Mothers by Sina Foroutanjazi
The void, the empty feeling of loss; this is perhaps what connects Ceren Ege’s Dictum Wisdom (Intima, Fall 2021) and Pomegranate Protocol (Intima, Fall 2021) above and beyond their chronological relationship.
Read moreWhat the Dying Need by Rachel Prince
Shortly after reading Vigil, I stumbled upon Sara Baker’s poem, “What Do the Dying Want?” (Spring 2015). In this work, Baker explores the titular question by wondering how healthcare professionals, hospice workers, or even caregivers and family members can properly address the needs of the dying – is the correct way through words and stories, reminiscing, music, meaningful touch, or just holding space and being present?
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