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Humanities

A lesson at the bedside

Emily Swinkin
CMAJ November 06, 2012 184 (16) 1818; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.120816
Emily Swinkin
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont.
Roles: Second-year medical student
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In treatment, when you come across resistance,

let your hands become diviners,

moving past the body’s alibis, finding ruin

where once there was only peace: here, healing happens.

For some, a touch will do the trick. For others,

comfort only comes in finding pain reflected

in the blues of an old jazz piano, the grit

of a grainy photograph, or in the delicate neck

of a paper swan and, suddenly,

recognizing it as their own.

Figure
Image courtesy of © 2012 Thinkstock

Footnotes

  • “A lesson at the bedside” won second prize in the poetry category of the 2012 ARS Medica and CMAJ Humanities Poetry and Prose contest.

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Canadian Medical Association Journal: 184 (16)
CMAJ
Vol. 184, Issue 16
6 Nov 2012
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A lesson at the bedside
Emily Swinkin
CMAJ Nov 2012, 184 (16) 1818; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.120816

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A lesson at the bedside
Emily Swinkin
CMAJ Nov 2012, 184 (16) 1818; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.120816
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