April is National Poetry Month, time for the celebration of poetry! See below for a selection of research articles on the unique role of poetry can play in medical education.
Evaluating a Poetry Workshop in Medical Education By Tracey J. Collett and John C. McLachlan
From Medical Humanities. Jan 2006; 32(1), 59-64
• A qualitative research study on the experiences of medical students participating in a poetry workshop
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23674751
“I wanted to communicate my feelings freely”: a Descriptive Study of Creative Responses to Enhance Reflection in Palliative Medicine Education by Lynn McBain, Sinéad Donnelly, Jo Hilder, Clare O’Leary, and Eileen McKinlay
From BMC Medical Education. 2015 Oct 23;15(1):180.
• Read about the use of poetry (along with other creative media) by medical students as part of an assignment on palliative care patient visits
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26498341
The Least of These: Reading Poetry to Encourage Reflection on the Care of Vulnerable Patients by Johanna Shapiro
From the Journal of Internal Medicine. 2011 Nov 1;26(11):1381-2.
• Read about how a series of poems by the physician-poet Rafael Campo can be used to encourage medical students, residents, and physicians to reflect on the plight of vulnerable patients
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21465300
Medical Students’ Perceptions of Dementia after Participation in Poetry Workshop with People with Dementia by Alaina J. Garrie, Shruti Goel, and Martin M. Forsberg
From International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2016 Feb 9
• Read about how medical students’ participation in a poetry workshop with people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), positively impacts their attitudes
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26977333
The Role of Poetry and Prose in Medical Education: the Pen as Mighty as the Scalpel? by Frank J. Wolters and Marjo Wijnen-Meijer
From Perspective Medical Education. 2012 Mar;1(1):43-50
• An articles on how poetry and prose can contribute to sustained development of empathy in medical students
Access at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23316458