Superficial Separations Meet Surgical Reflections
Open. / Open abdomens. / Idealized organs from Netter’s in the flesh.
Poetry Thursdays
Poetry Thursdays is our initiative to highlight poetry and prose by medical students, with a new post every Thursday. If you are interested in contributing or would like to learn more, please contact our editors.
Contributing Writer
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Maseray Kamara is a 2018 MD candidate at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She is very active on campus and was appointed to the Admissions Committee by the Dean for Admissions and elected to the Student Council by her peers. Additionally, she tutored first year students in anatomy and biochemistry and spearheaded the fundraiser ‘48 for Flint,’ a student initiated response to the Flint Water Crises. In 2016, she received the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Looking to the Future Scholarship and the AMA Foundation Minority Scholars Award. Maseray is committed to serving underserved and underinsured populations and aspires to be physician who contributes to the medical field through clinical practice, medical journalism, and public health advocacy. Follow her journey in medicine on Instagram @drkamara.
Elysium and Hades from My Backyard
Soon, / There / Will be / A true cure.
The Line
I have stood on both sides of the line– / The line between mother and medic; / The line between parent and practitioner.
your heart has four chambers, is there room for me?
time, / its lifespan ceases to exist / as the gold warmth of your hazel eyes surround me
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
two slides
after three years go by / you appear on two slides / in a lecture / on motor neuron disease
Under
Little girl / in the pink hospital gown / sits in a windowless room.
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.
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.