Poetry in Medicine: oblivious to the obvious

Abstract

Medicine is a science that is deeply intertwined with the emotional, psychological, cultural and social aspects of human life. Poetry has almost a similar domain. In recent years, poetry has emerged as a powerful tool to bridge the obvious gap between the clinical objectivity of medicine and the expectations of patients and healthcare professionals. Poetry can and must enhances empathy, trust, respect, communication, and emotional understanding in medical practice. This offers both clinicians and their patients a simple and cost-effective way to process complex emotions. By incorporating poetry into medical education and practice one can improve patient care and clinician well-being.

Keywords

• pulse project
• narrative medicine
• medicine
• poetry
• humanities
• literature
• healthcare professional
• delivery of healthcare
• well-being
• education, medical
• psychological well-being
• poetry in medicine