Beyond Bubbles

Relating to patients
…..is a process.

Building trust
…..is a process.

Being a physician
…..is a privilege.

I want to use it all
…..to get to the roots
……….of why disparity
……………and mistrust occur;

Not just
…..go to clinic,
……….treat patients,
……………go home.

Future generations
……….are counting on me.

Notes from the interview that inspired this poem:

“Interacting with people whose lives are different from mine and learning their perspectives first-hand makes me realize maybe I’ve been living in a bit of a bubble,” she said. She was a first-year med student. She told me about her experiences in the clinic witnessing the mistrust of the medical community among specific patient populations who have historically been harmed. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what my place is. How can I help bridge this divide as I become a physician? How can I learn how to take an active role in bettering the future of medicine even though I can never know what others have been through having never walked in their shoes?”

Interviewee: Anonymous, Medical Student
Listener Poet: Jenny Hegland