Doug Hester: An Intern's Recollection of a Night at the VA, July 2004
An Intern's Recollection of a Night at the VA, July 2004
After the code,
a perfusing rhythm back
and a new chest tube to suction,
my chief offered
some feedback on
my central line:
the needle was
in the wrong place,
just like me.
Discussion Questions
How does reading this poem make you feel? Does the poem resonate with learning or teaching experiences you’ve had in medicine or elsewhere?
What lessons can we take from this poem and “Starfish” as we try to build supportive learning communities?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“Sadly 100% resonates (just finished a story about being shamed by a [chief resident]). I don't know why there has been this cultural sense in #MedEd that we have to toughen people up & make them prove themselves. I can't see how that makes anyone a better clinician.” —@meggerber
“As an intern the chaos of a code and the feeling of displacement is still something I find myself grappling with. Feedback helps, although it works better when mixed with a lick of encouragement.” —@Amanda_Piedra
“It left me with so many questions. I wanted to know who did what during the code & how well they knew the patient. Emotionally, I felt a sense of emptiness & sadness.” —@DrV_NeoMD
“Last line is so powerful. Medicine is such an amazing journey. At beginning of med school, students have such doubt, and by end of residency become so incredibly well trained. Just need to help them reflect much more during the journey.” —@michaelvitez
“Was, as a resident, belittled for a pneumothorax from a subclavian line placed during CPR. I remember my chief resident laughing at me "You dropped his lung - hahaha!" I thought to myself how awful he was -but it burned its way into my psyche nonetheless.” —@RJHamiltonMD
About this #MedHumChat
“An Intern's Recollection of a Night at the VA, July 2004” was paired with “Starfish,” a poem by Mary Oliver for a #MedHumChat discussion November 11, 2019 exploring Learning.
This was a special joint chat with the Association of American Medical College’s (AAMC) Council of Faculty and Academic Societies (CFAS) which took place during the Learn Service Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting.
We were honored to be joined by special guests Anna Reisman, MD, Director of the Program for Humanities in Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, and Michael Vitez, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and Director of Narrative Medicine at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
The pieces for this chat, along with the discussion questions, were selected by Colleen Farrell and CFAS.
About the Author
Doug Hester, MD is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.