Journal for Learning through the Arts

Abstract: This paper describes an experiment in which Family Medicine residents composed, read, and discussed their poems as a way of bringing to life their often complex relationships with patients. It argues that this approach mobilizes the physicians’ own creativity in the service of reflective practice and improved doctor-patient relationships. This method further increases mental “space” within the physician and between doctor and patient. It can supplement the more usual approach to teaching medical humanities, wherein great literary works and the writing of famous physicians are explored for the insights they offer to healthcare practitioners.