Doubt
A young doctor on a ward feeling inadequate and overwhelmed despite his committment to the medical profession
Dear Diary
Prose in diary form – composite fictional account. based on observations of patients in an oncology clinic
Isolation
The necessity of patient-centred care within dementia
Metamorphosis
Striving towards holism within medical education
Happy Birthday Helen
Considering the shortened life of the author’s elder sister
Lost
Bereavement and resilience: a personal perspective following family loss
Attention: This Building is Unsafe and Likely to Collapse
A daughter shares how her mother handled terminal lung disease both through writing poetry and publishing practical ideas to support family and friends through a cancer diagnosis
Happy Pills
The value of simply offering a hand within healthcare
Songs of Courage
Healing through music therapy inspires a student’s poem
A journey to be avoided but not forgotten
Phenomenology as a resource for patients, carers and practitioners
The Art of Touch
Perspectives around of the role of touch between doctor and patient
The Meeting
How an isolated, shared experience, albeit brief – can forge a unique bond and impact on your life
A Little Boy, A Little Time
The heart-wrenching impact of encountering young children with life limiting AIDS/HIV upon the author
Hope
The determination of a mother to ensure her son’s survival following a motor-cycle accident
Healing power of prayer
The role of faith in well-being under multi-perspectives scrutiny
My mind is not my own
A visual and audio interpretation of the impact of a stroke on a particular patient based on his detailed embodied descriptions
11 minutes
A family enmeshed in addiction to smoking – socio/cultural, emotional and medical issues unpicked with compassion
Life… injecting it or sucking it away?
The struggle to break the cycle of addiction explored
Orofacial Pain
The all-consuming and fragmenting impact of chronic and acute facial pain
Loss
The unexpected emotional impact of a family doctor’s concern for a man whose wife died of cancer
What’s Inside?
A thought-provoking case study of gender ambiguity and identity construction
‘The patient may appear well’ – Amy’s Story
The effect of medically unexplained symptoms and associated complex issues including self-harm
Schizophrenia
Stigma: the impact schizophrenia on a family unit and link with the film ‘A Beautiful Mind’
If in doubt, call it out!
The ward as a stressful environment when clinicians overlook patients’ privacy
Flight
Humorous account of a daughter/carer leaving this role after much provocation
Postcodes: are they a prescribing destiny?
Exploring the notion of post-code lottery regarding oncology treatment drawing on patient responses
Living with Alcoholism
The author’s experience as child/carer alongside her mother’s addiction
Thirst
Poem about author’s initial denial of diabetes
This is your Grandad
The death of a grandparent highlights tensions between bio-medical knowledges and personal loss.
How Am I?
Prose inspired by meeting a distraught, terminally-ill mother who had just given birth
The Ripple Effect
Conflicts and complexity of care – inspired by a mother’s personal experience
CANCER?
A medical student’s mixed response to his mother’s suspected cancer diagnosis
Diagnosis: Loneliness
The impact of loneliness on individual well-being – a student’s social experiment
The Appearance of Disease
A student visualises patients from their medical notes pre-consultation
Skin awareness device for experiencing our interface with the world
The role of sensory embodiment within the clinical encounter and consequent impact on the quality of healthcare
The Phossy Jaw Story
Historical parallels with a jaw condition now being treated by genetic technology
Art and Medical Practice
The ‘whole’ patient as yet unseen – despite specialist investigations
Anti Mnemonist
Three intersecting graphic perspectives based on living with dementia and the underlying creative process
The Heart of the Matter
Musings on the heart, cultural, anatomical, personal inspired by patient artwork
Rescue
The initial disconnecting and isolating aspect of pain and illness – and relief when a web of support emerges
Alive
‘The miracle of life is not to live – but to be alive’: the doctor’s role in supporting patients to address self-depleting patterns
Sun-Spun
The poet observes a child with autism absorbed in play and feels privileged to be invited to join her world