Postcards from Health Care

After a memorable day in the lab or at the hospital, try writing a 55-word story to capture your inner most thoughts and experiences. This month in the journal Family Medicine, Colleen T. Fogarty, M.D., presents a collection of these cathartic writings. Like haiku (or twitter), the low word count forces the writer to connect with what’s important, and to explicitly share challenges, regrets, empathy.

An associate professor of Family Medicine, Fogarty practices and teaches medical education and encourages her colleagues to use the 55-word technique to reflect and learn. An example:

A gaggle of geese fill the yard,

Chattering together

and I, the only duck.

They honk, I quack

and somehow we understand.

We learn from each other.

We share the same goals.

I think I’m going to like this yard.

It’s good to be a duck among geese

Progress!

Last year I was a fish

Read more here.