MINDFUL(L)

Jodie (c2020) writes an exceptional poem/creative piece reflecting on her time sitting in on a group mindfulness session facilitated by a therapist; during her recent Psychiatry rotation.

RPP Adaptation – MF1

During the year that I worked, I had a few days off here and there due to the structure of my contract. I volunteered at a hospital, with the knowledge that I won’t be able to spend as much unfettered time with patients as a medical student, and eventually, as a physician. There is one […]

A Match

“Please be aware that most stem cell donors and patients never meet.” The Guide for Potential Unrelated Donors, OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network. Canadian Blood Services. There’s a message on the machine when I get home from work. A red and flashing number 1. A rainy Thursday in May. I slide the […]

Dr.

He called me “Dr.” — I am no doctor. Did he not hear me introduce myself as just a medical student? I open his chart full of tabs and labels — but to me it is an angry mess of half-filled forms. Drowning under drug names, I barely have the sense to register that his […]

Comfort Measures

From the moment we are born, We are dying— But it doesn’t seem to matter Until someone gives us a reason to doubt We will wake up tomorrow. Then we are afraid to fall asleep, Every blink feels like a kiss of lidocaine (2%, with fear) Are we still breathing? (For how long?) In that […]

On Dying

A university student takes a picture in front of the fall foliage with a peace sign and a gleeful smile during his weekend hike Depending on what colour the leaves are, if they’re on the trees or on the ground how long they’ve been there His picture speaks of the dying process […]

Order

What is it about a messy house What is it about skipping the gym for one day What is it about not talking to him at the time of night you usually talk to him What is it about missing lunch yesterday What is it about not showering in the morning What is it about […]