Table 1
Themes in poetry as depicted by medical students, subtracted from Shapiro et al. [13]
|
Theme of the poem |
Number of poems (%) |
|---|---|
|
Student–patient relation |
60 (35.1) |
|
Student–patient’s family relation |
35 (20.5) |
|
Guidance and mentor observation |
32 (18.7) |
|
Other (death, stress, spirituality, etc.) |
44 (25.7) |
|
171 (100) |
Table 2
|
1 |
Think of a compelling story based on your experience (as clinician, patient, other?) |
|
2 |
Write down everything you can think of |
|
3 |
Don’t edit, just write (phrases, words, key chunks of memory) |
|
4 |
Put it away (optional and can be done at any time between #2 and finishing) |
|
5 |
Read over your writing and begin to clarify the idea or storyline that you want to convey. |
|
6 |
Begin editing, sometimes ruthlessly |
|
7 |
Share your work with others for reactions and feedback |
|
8 |
Keep editing until you get 55 words. Use your word counter, and also double check manually. |
|
a. The title doesn’t contribute to the word count but shouldn’t be more than seven words | |
|
b. Contractions count as single words | |
|
c. Eliminating articles (the, a, an) can help with word count | |
|
9 |
If you cannot cut enough words, you probably have material that either would lend itself to a longer essay or become multiple 55-word stories |
|
10 |
Given the brevity, formatting can make a big difference. Experiment with line length, indentations, hanging indents, and other use of white space |