G6P1142
Choice confounds a control / Whose jurisdiction knows no bounds
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
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Maia Young is a third year medical student at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, who is spellbound by the intimacy, mechanisms, and excitement within the field of anesthesiology. She envisions a career translating her medical skills to settings across resource spectra and national borders. In the meantime, she listens closely, shares generously, communicates creatively, and loves deeply.
Passed Tense
I wasn’t expecting the morning report. / I wasn’t expecting to see images, / The death, the blood, the open eyes, / the open hands grasping at someone / long gone. Bullets buried deep.
BMI: Brief Metabolic Investigations
Bone Marrow Insufficiency / Bullies, Meds, Insomnia / Blatant Media Influence
Embracing the Challenge: A Medical Journey
In the realm of American care, I navigate / With eyes wide open, acknowledging its state
The Kind of Doctor I Want to Be
I expect the attending to leave the room after ripping off her gloves and gown. Instead she grabs a clean towel and gently wipes the patient’s forehead with the soft tenderness of a mother. I decide that this is the kind of doctor I want to be.
Care
To be seen, / as you are, / For who you are, / Absent judgment, / Equals patient care.
Hypertension Follow-Up
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” / She keeps repeating herself.
Awfully Nice
Tears in her eyes / Puddles in a funnel of wrinkles / She fingers her golden ring
Mirror
It is a snowy day in April / The three of us each sit at our own windows and watch the remainder of our winters, / She says it came out of nowhere. / She means the snow maybe, or the Dementia.
A Subset of Innumerable Thoughts and Observations
I quickly realized, they allow the inner recesses of my soul to connect with my imagination, together spewing forth a wonderful concoction of syllables, metaphors and outright madness on dozens of sticky notes
Heart Failure
he sits on the edge of the bed, forlorn – / eyes squeezed shut, back hunched over. / the veins snaking up his arms seem / translucent as he clenches the bed rail / in a death grip.
Tap, Reflex
Touch, pinch. Move, shift. Tap, reflex.
Contributing Writer
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Richard is a fourth-year medical student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, FL, class of 2024. In 2019, he graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences and with a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies. In 2020, he graduated from Florida State University with a Juris Masters in health care regulation. He enjoys writing poetry, indoor rock climbing, movies and baking in his free time. After graduating medical school in 2024, Richard would like to pursue a career in Neurology.