HUMANITY EMERGENCY: POETRY OF A MEDICAL STUDENT

"The collection is evidence of a lively mind that even medicine can't destroy." - Dr. Brian Goldman, CBC Radio's White Coat Black Art Medical school is like a combination of a hug, a slap in the face, going to church and trying to survive. I graduated medical school earlier this year, but wrote these poems throughout the course of my training. With the busy life of being a health care professional, it can be easy to lose compassion in medicine. Studies show that empathy decreases during the process of becoming a doctor. However, it's an emergency to have more humanity in medicine and in the world more generally. This journey begins with recognizing what is human in ourselves. These poems and stories have helped me to hold on to my own humanity in a seemingly chaotic world. The time is now. The person is you. Situation - emergency. Go.