Good Morning, Howard
“Good morning, Howard. I love you” / James whispered at seven o’ clock / Every morning / Like clockwork
Off the Shelf
Off the Shelf is our section for creative works by medical students.
Writer-in-Training
University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Hello! My name is Damien and I'm a student at the University of South Florida's College of Medicine. I was born and raised on the island of Antigua, and have been writing poetry and fiction for years. I hope you enjoy my work!
Nuchal Stupidity
Young eyes awake to a febrile surprise / amid a quake of jittering limbs, / a clonic fit whose master cried / and shook the serenity of his crib.
Medicine and Nothing Else
Year 1, year 2, year 3, year 4 / Each year you learn a little more / Before graduating in four / Always yearning for more
Anatomy as Art: Installation #6
At Albany Medical College, upon our orientation to gross anatomy, we are asked to draw our feelings on blank index cards prior to entering the cadaver laboratory. As we progress through the year, our sentiments regarding anatomy may remain the same, or may change, and these drawings allow us to look back at this milestone we crossed as budding medical students.
Don’t Stop This Train
An adolescent youth at Philadelphia FIGHT had an impressive display of might. / He could have easily passed as an adult / Although he didn’t look the sight he shared a complex story of plight / And the many woes in his life that he’s had to make right.
The Exam
Once upon a Thursday dreary, as I pondered facts and theory, / Doubtful I had ever studied physiology before. / While I nodded, almost napping, suddenly there came a tapping / As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my house’s door.
Imprint
I believed him to be / a collection of gears and levers / lubricated by blood and sweat / nothing much left / but an imprint.
Roads
These busy medical students, of which I am one, / are preparing for a road trip, / stuffing our cars full of everything we might ever conceivably need: / Metaphorical band aids, jumper cables, flashlights, emergency blankets,
Perspective
What have I done with my life? / The lightning lighting up / the hospital room floor. / Why did I have to die?
Pathology of the Med Student
Stamina waning / Along with my patience / For the number of patients / Presenting with an emesis of symptoms
Family Doc
How does it look, Doc? / Hand hold, / Heads fold. / Cradle to Rock.
Anatomy as Art: Installation #5
For the majority of medical students, gross anatomy is the first time that we observe and cut into the flesh of preserved cadavers. Whether it is through a longitudinal year-round program or a semester’s worth of concentrated anatomy, most of us develop a unique relationship with the cadaver gifted to us by generous donors.
Medical Student Editor and in-Training Staff Member Emeritus
University of Florida Fixel Movement and Neurorestoration Institute
Nita Chen is a current movement disorders fellow at University of Florida Movement and Neurorestoration program. She is Class of 2017 medical student at Albany Medical College. To become cultural, she spent her early educational years in Taiwan and thoroughly enjoyed wonderful Taiwanese food and milk tea, thus ruining her appetite for the rest of her life in the United States. Aside from her neuroscience and cognitive science majors during her undergraduate career, she holed herself up in her room writing silly fictional stories, doodling, and playing the piano. Or she could be found spazzing out like a gigantic science nerd in various laboratories. Now she just holes up in her room to study most of the time.