Dreams Versus Reality
My balance beam within the clouds / Seems lost amongst the starry night / As dreams and thoughts blur vision to / The reality of my true plight.
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
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.
I’ve Heard This Before
I’ve heard this before, / This insidious pain you describe, / That grinds and gnaws / Diffusely below the stomach
Body Field Meets Sterile Field (2017)
Where the consciousness floats into the medicine / Where the sacred meets the metal / Where the steel cuts the energy field
For Some of Us, Medicine is Still a Sacred Calling
We were called out. From the darkness, we came. Like a deer in the black morning, we arose in that witching hour before the sun obliterates the fog to begin our walk on that narrow path.
First Look Through An Ophthalmoscope
I approach the translucent window, / a milky opacity locking tight its hinges. / Vainly I press forward, reaching / for the soft sill on which to rest my hand.
The Supremacy of the Scalpel
We wield the privilege of the scalpel, / Slice skin, / Cauterize the cutaneous, / Disrobe the depths of disease.
A Condition of the Heart
It’s 1 a.m., everyone’s running on three cups of coffee / When a man stumbles through the entrance / And I could hear whispers of / It’s him, the homeless man, back in the ER again
Runway
The first thing she noticed, / Was her heart fluttering off and on, / The doctor saw her pale, / And iron pills were called upon.
first year
new introduction / my name is… / and i’m a med student
Bedside Bidding
Never grow old she says, / As the IV beeps and her SCDs hum. / Enjoy your youth she says, / As her body creaks and her fingers drum.
palpate
you almost died today. / you almost brought yourself back to life / knowing another heart, too, / makes warmth between your breasts.
stronger in the broken places
his eyes beyond his glasses / dart from me / rest on the corners
Contributing Writer
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
I am currently a fourth year medical student in the SELECT Program at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. With a background in Spanish Literature and Public Health, I am interested in the intersection of medicine and the humanities. I have a particular interest in the understanding of disease through the lens of psychosocial issues, the correctional healthcare system, and underserved populations. I am passionate about observing and writing about medical culture, and how we, as patients and providers, experience it.