A testimony and tribute to one writer’s mother who passed away from COVID-19.
Read moreHungry for the Everyday: On Jennifer Abernathy’s "Hunger"
A nurse ponders the role of food in the ICU setting—as well as the hunger that it can stir and the memories that it can evoke.
Read moreOn Disability, Tools, and Dignity
What is the interplay between dignity and disability? A writer living with Ehlers-Danlos explains.
Read moreWhen Magic Meets Medicine: A Reflection on the Power of Play
Through poetry, a writer and community-based coach appreciates the magic at the borderland of the known and unknown.
Read moreTherapeutic Alliance: A Key to Effective Treatment
A retired nurse practitioner close reads a Field Notes essay published in this journal and emphasizes how shared identities and backgrounds can generate a more therapeutic alliance during the clinical encounter.
Read moreThe Sense of Being Lost in the Face of Illness and Death
How does grace manifest itself in the clinical encounter? And what of eulogy and testimony? A psychiatrist-writer explores two poems published in this journal to find deeper meaning.
Read moreThe Beautiful Surprise
What is the beautiful surprise that can be found in the clinical encounter between patient and physician? A writer and nurse explains.
Read moreHow Poetry Changed My Practice
A neurologist meditates on his “medical metamorphosis” into a physician—and how poetry served as a lifeline for inspiration and growth throughout it all.
Read moreA Transplant Patient's Reflection on Living While Dying
An artist and organ transplant recipient considers the isolation of her own illness experience and further explores these issues in her graphic medicine comic, published in this very journal.
Read moreFrom Both Sides Now...
In writing about psychosis, a psychiatrist contemplates whether a physician can ever truly understand a patient’s lived experience.
Read moreBeing More Than Just a White Coat
A visual artist explores the trusting relationship she shares with her psychiatrist—and how that fiduciary manifests itself through her photodrawings and studio art.
Read moreInstruction as Narrative: A Reflection on Rachel Kowalsky's "Your First Pediatric Intubation"
What makes writing different from medicine and vice-versa? A contributor to this journal pinpoints their shared ability to instruct via narrative.
Read moreOn Healing, Suffering, and End-Of-Life Care
A medical student reflects on two pieces of fiction published in this journal that deal with the duality of suffering and healing.
Read moreCaregiving: When the Patient is Your Mother. A Reflection by poet Brian Ascalon Roley
A writer revisits his childhood memories and, in doing so, reflects on the evolving relationship between parent and child as both grow older.
Read moreAn Abortion Doula and the Greatest Professional Calling
A family physician reflects on her own experiences in handling her patients’ abortion stories and notices the parallels in her own practice with that of an abortion doula.
Read moreMoral Injury in Medicine: What it means by physician Frank Baudino
A family medicine physician with a background in medical volunteerism examines the risks of practicing healthcare on the front lines of war—be it in southern Sudan or the United States.
Read moreEveryone Has the Blues: Learning acceptance by paramedic Azhar Alhashim
A paramedic ponders the blues. “Understanding what affects our mood and causes a lack of energy or a feeling of unease or turmoil allows us to think about the solutions that can be put in place to get better. Some factors can be easily resolved, but others require a lot of introspection and external support—and sometimes, just acceptance.”
Read moreOn Brian Ascalon Roley’s "Caregiving"
A pediatric emergency physician reflects on the burning intensity found at the heart of caregiving.
Read moreLeading Change in Healthcare Through a Healing Nature
A pharmacist fiercely advocates for lasting change via a healing framework.
Read moreA Moment of Intimacy
A writer questions the dynamics that shape—as well as disguise—not only the clinical encounter, but also personhood, identity, and intimacy.
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