A Lovely Poem
Four years ago, the University of Michigan Medical School began a program for beginning medical students called "The Family Centered Experience." Students are paired to families who have experienced all sorts of illnesses, and for their first two years of medical school, the students and families meet to discuss how illness affects their lives, their families, their self-identity, etc. Students also go to medical appointments with their families.
Each week, throughout the school year, the students discuss what they have learned from their families. These discussions are monitored by physician/professors. This class is mandatory and I applaud Michigan for starting this program, which to my knowledge is still the only one of its kind in the nation. Clearly, its goal is to teach the students that there is much more to illness than what can be found on a chart. These young doctors are learning to treat the whole person by learning about illness from those who have experienced it first hand.
After two years of participating in the program, the students create projects to convey their understanding of illness from a patient's perspective. Last week, I attended their project presentations and was absolutely amazed by every student's work. These young people have learned compassion and caring, lessons they will carry with them throughout their careers.
I wish I could tell you about each project, but there was one in particular that I'd like to share - a poem written as part of a larger project that especially touched my heart. It's a limerick written by a young woman named Kristina Harrell who graciously agreed to let me share it with all of you. The poem speaks to us all and speaks for itself. It follows:
True strength is not found at a gym
And champions aren't defined by a win.
Real heroes don't quit
When they're hardest hit
Because their greatness comes from within.
Thanks, Kristina, for this reminder that all of us do find strength we often never dream we have.
Betsy