Misery – A Small Collection of Patients’ Stories
Dr. Marissa Mayfield uses a trio of poems to teleport readers into the reality of medical crises and highlight the need for empathy in healthcare.
Tag: empathy
Resident Physician
Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center
Marissa Mayfield, MD, MSPH is a First Year OBGYN resident at Carolina's Medical Center, Charlotte NC. She attended medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.
Another Chronic Painer
Dr. Ervin Anies introduces a reverse poem to help delve into the multifactorial and complicated picture that is treating chronic pain. His poem reflects the struggles and triumphs a provider can encounter while dealing with chronic pain patients.
Her Story Too
Christopher Awad uses poetry to underline how a rare diagnosis inadvertently overshadowed his patient’s unique story on a neurology rotation.
See One, Do One, Teach One, Have One
Dr. Michael Callegari assesses the teaching mantra in medicine, and the centrality of empathy in patient care.
One Question More
Medical student Varesh Gorabi is reminded of the importance of empathy during a seemingly routine clinic visit.
I Am Here and Alive
Dr. Ervin Anies explores the struggles and emotional turmoil of medical training, ultimately finding acceptance and self-worth.
How Literature Transformed an Engineer into a Doctor
Medical student Bassel Salka finds opportunities to improve health care by reading works of humorists, fiction writers, and philosophers.
Yearning for Yesterday
Shivani Sundaram, a third-year medical student, explores the need for humanity and patience in the face of algorithms and checkboxes.
The Medical Student Behind the Mask
Rachel Lawson describes her challenging experiences during her first year of medical school at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and how her experience was profoundly impacted by a vaccination clinic.
An Understanding
Medical student MacKenzie Adams reflects on her experience with a patient who received news that he was dying via an interpreter. She addresses the importance of improving care for non-English speakers.
Pursuing Medicine as a Chinese-American in the Time of COVID-19
Henry Zou, an Asian American fourth-year medical student, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and finds courage and hope.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
This essay offers a personal reflection on hospice care and celebration of life from the perspective of a medical student addressing her late grandmother.
Editor-in-Chief
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Originally from Austin, TX, Ashley is now a fourth-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Religious Studies in 2019. She spends her free time hanging out with her four cats, reading mystery & fantasy novels, crocheting amigurumi, and practicing yoga or dance. Ashley's academic interests include women's mental health and equitable treatment for substance use disorders. She aspires for a career as a medical writer.