In this reflective poem, an experienced emergency doctor addresses the myth of invincibility often associated with healthcare. Through his personal experience during family trip, the poet delves into the shared vulnerability of caregivers and patients, navigating illness with empathy.

A physician recounts her journey struggling with chronic disease during the demands of residency training. The verses unveil a profound realization, capturing the complexities of identity and loss amidst adversity. The absence of a title reflects the ongoing journey of rebuilding and recovery.

Through heartfelt moments with a wounded warrior, a dying nun, a homeless woman, and a concerned daughter, a fourth-year medical student highlights how a clinician's presence can be the most potent healing tool. In the quiet spaces between words, understanding of eternity blooms.

A psychiatry resident explores the complexity of human connection in various settings, from encountering a frightened stranger in a garage to conducting interviews with patients in a psychiatric unit. She draws on the ways in which we navigate distance, both physical and emotional, and the importance of recognizing the humanity of those around us.

A wedding guest becomes a patient in this essay about caring for strangers, life choices, and why many ER doctors are “still doing this.”

A physical therapist reflects on the exhaustion and impatience felt by both healthcare workers and patients as they navigate through their “New Normal.” The poem is a poignant reminder of the challenges faced by those in the medical field and the countless individuals waiting for a return to normalcy.

As a part of our “My New Normal” series, this poem draws on the power of music to convey the unspeakable emotions the poet has faced, upon the pandemic and his mother’s passing.

The psychological burden of intubating a patient is often overlooked. These stories, written and recorded by four different physicians, touch upon the emotional side of managing difficult airways.

As Michael Leach sees it, the healthcare community comprises three groups of people: those who receive care, those who provide care, and those who teach and build the evidence base. In his poem, Modern Lines, Dr. Leach provides insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic affects educators and researchers in terms of the newfound distance between academics and their students, and the loss of control the virus has caused.

It can be difficult to find moments of serenity in the unyielding chaos of the pandemic. However, Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell’s “The Healing Heart” shows us that even something as simple as collecting pebbles can lend us respite from the storm and remind us of life’s beauty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a host of barriers to practicing medicine from obscuring our faces to increasing patient hostility and overall frustration. In his poem, “Enough”, Dr. Jay Kaplan, past president of ACEP and a national leader in physician wellness, examines this loss of connection and how we can fight back by spreading compassion and hope.

In her original song, “Karine”, Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell looks beyond her patient’s symptoms and instead tells their story, reminding us of the importance of focusing on the human rather than the disease.

Toni Glanzer, an ER nurse at Weill Cornell Medicine, is a wordsmith by nature. In her poem, “The Suburban Convertible”, Toni paints the portrait of a woman who sees herself for who she truly is: joyous and full of laughter.

In this short story, Dr. Oscar Velásquez yearns for the recognition of being on a hospital billboard. But is that what he really needs? Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this story praises the unsung hero, and affirms the feeling of wonder that inspired so many of us to go into medicine.

Winner of the 2021 NEJM Medical Fiction Contest

In October we honored our nursing friends and colleagues, who stand front and center on our front lines.  This poem by registered nurse and poet Stacy Nigliazzo reminds us of the pivotal role of nursing in listening to and caring for the patient. 

The Delta Variant has left many in the medical community feeling frustrated, angry... and surprised at these feelings.  Are there limits to our empathy? Dr. Jay Kaplan, past president of ACEP and a national leader in physician wellness, has put just the right words to this thorny question with this new poem.  Thank you to @jaykaplanmd for sharing these words, and showing that it is OK to feel these very human emotions.

It seemed as though Covid-19 would spare the children—but on one unforgettable shift, these three E.R. doctors realized this couldn’t be further from the truth.

#DocsWhoRock shared this moving rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water. This video features pianist and Weill Cornell Medical Student Evan Balmuth accompanied by the talented vocalist Dr. Lucy Morse.

Kirsten Bredvik, an MD-PhD student at Weill Cornell, recorded this Air & Rondo as part of the #DocsWhoRock project, curated by WCM medical students Emily Eruysal, Anu Goel, and Maria Passarelli.

Who cares for the caregiver, and how? Poet Scott Hightower was the life companion of a beloved emergency medicine physician, Dr Jose L. Fernandez. Scott recalls “I took my role of supporting my physician-companion seriously. Being his ‘go-home-to’, I was his assistant in keeping nutrition going into him: physical and abstract." His poem “Tasteless Defense” explores the experience of love when the beloved is an ER doctor in the midst of a pandemic.