Last and First Days
Was it a fall? Did I miss the last step? These things I cannot recall / Hidden from sight, the blood crept from one lone vessel and began to compress / Nice to meet you, one medical student said, as he unzipped my sheath
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Contributing Writer
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Sal is an M1 at Chicago Medical School where he also serves as the Benevolent Overload of The Medical Humanities Club. In his spare time he works in the Resuscitation Institute at the University.
A soccer coach once told Sal, "you are pretty agile for your body type." The description was overwhelmingly accurate.
two slides
after three years go by / you appear on two slides / in a lecture / on motor neuron disease
Pupil of the Eye
The eye dilated in the physician’s dark exam room, / While into it the eyes of new white coats loom, / From this eye I am learning
Under
Little girl / in the pink hospital gown / sits in a windowless room.
Stairwells and Stethoscopes
“No, no, no,” I repeated, first silently and then as a whisper, as I frantically pushed the elevator button. The reliable elevator chime did not ring, and the button light would not stay on. “Great. Fantastic,” I sarcastically muttered.
Hyperammonemia
Hepatic failure claimed him mentally, / And colored yellow both his eyes so wide / As too his being stained corporally.
A Privilege to Chore
The many tables corral him, / All the people surround him, / A trained doctor he is not, / Giving up, he hasn’t thought.
Nascent Hands
First, do no harm, but to harm not I must first see / With swift breath, I begin. / You, silent teacher, my new textbook
One Step At A Time
My mind wakes up in the morning / Sweating with facts / Preparing / For the archeological dig.
A Physician Finds Himself at a Loss for Words
And whenever I see you smile / There are significant changes in my cardiology, / I love you
Medical School
Felt like war, those early years, / We fought a fight for all those years.
Are We All Impostors?
Is it just me? / Or does it seem / that my pride / will not let me be
Writer-in-Training
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Alayna is a first year medical student at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando, Florida. She also has a Molecular Biology and Microbiology degree from the University of Central Florida and is a proud Orlando native who knows that Orlando is much more than just theme parks and tourists. Her medical interests include community health, global health, and bioethics. When not studying, she enjoys reading fiction novels, rollerblading at local parks, and planning her next travel adventure.