Intima Archives / FIELD NOTES M-Z by title
The Magic Wand | Brian Deady | FALL 2018
A physician doesn’t have all the answers, even when the patient’s diagnosis truly hits home - but his compassionate encounter serves both his patient and his son.
The Man Across From Me | John Pierce | SPRING 2023
Hello—and hello: The meeting of two ALS patients yields a revelation for the author.
"Meaningfull" | Daniel Waters | FALL 2015
Definitions, definitions... even surgeons need to cut to the chase.
Medical Metamorphosis | Jessica Little | FALL 2014
During residency, a doctor facing alienation struggles to maintain her humanity.
Memorial Days | Brian Smith | FALL 2021
A medical student reflects on the meaning of anniversaries in cancer care.
Migrations | Esther Lee | SPRING 2016
A medical student and her patient struggle to communicate in a hospital far from their native countries.
Misunderstood | Vidya Viswanathan |FALL 2021
A physician reflects on those things lost in translation.
Morning | Olivia DiLeonardo | FALL 2015
An acknowledgment of significance in the fragments of a day.
Mr. Brown | Lauren Klingman | FALL 2022
There’s a moment when you just want to check a task off your list and head home. Then an awkward encounter with a patient that lasts 15 minutes turns into a meaningful memory you recall again and again.
My First Code Blue | Rayda Joomun | SPRING 2017
From the lifeless body wheeled in by his wife and daughter to her own father gasping for air at home, this piece taps into the emotion of code blues.
My Own Shock | Maxwell Wilberding | SPRING 2024
From triage to the trauma bay, a young doctor finds it is good to be surrounded by fellow medical students and kind clinicians when experiencing anaphylaxsis.
My Year in Narrative Medicine | Dana Gage | FALL 2011
A doctor reflects on learning a new discipline that is enlightening, rigorous and mysterious.
Nails | Katarina Doan-Thu Nguyen | SPRING 2013
One doctor learns that eyes aren't the only window into the soul.
The New Hangman | Virali Shah | FALL 2020
A classic childhood game becomes the only way for a father to communicate in the ICU.
Newton’s Cradle | Julia Festa | SPRING 2020
An introspective medical student reflects on her experiences oscillating in search of personal and professional balance as she becomes a physician.
Noise | Aparna Ragupathi | FALL 2023
While shadowing a doctor, a medical student observes how patients respond amid the hospital’s hubbub and the need to ‘move on’ to the next case.
No Time for Tears Today | William Fyfe | FALL 2017
The eagerness and anxiety of a young doctor on their first clinical rotation unfold in the retelling of their first week.
Not In Our Bed | Giamila Fantuzzi | SPRING 2017
Returning home to die isn't always the right choice for everyone.
Not Yet the Epilogue | Danielle Snyderman | SPRING 2021
Doctor and patient discover they have the freedom to choose what stories they will inhabit.
Now and Then | John Jacobson | FALL 2018
Caregiver grief fails to fit into the mold of traditional models of grief - loss is just as stark when the one you grieve is with you.
Of Being a Patient When You Are a Doctor | Beatrice Khater | SPRING 2021
Visiting a new place also invites consideration of a new role and a new perspective.
Of Prematurity and Parental Leave | Erica Campagnaro and Kenneth Woodside | FALL 2021
Two MDs, one baby: An essay about the balancing act clinicians—every new parent, actually—go through.
Of Walls and Windows | Richard Scott Morehead | SPRING 2022
Experience and age weigh an office with a view to an office with room for the books, journal articles and accolades collected over a career.
On Carrying Grief | Lajja Patel | FALL 2022
In this moving account of loss and humility, a doctor and patient bond over shared grief.
On ECMO and Ubers | Hannah Decker | FALL 2022
A night at the NICU brings a surgery resident and an Uber driver together to reflect on why we do what we do.
On Hope | Denise Napoli Long | FALL 2023
The duality of healthcare comes to light as a clinician watches a patient’s life wind down while seeking fertility treatments for herself.
One Body | Meghan Reilly | FALL 2022
Strongman training teaches one kind of fortitude; anatomy class provides another in an essay about coming to terms with the loss of a father.
One Thousand and One Diagnoses | Anna Rita Amboziak | SPRING 2014
It isn't always easy to engage a patient in narrative discourse, but the effort to do so has value
On Symptoms | Karina Hofstee | FALL 2021
Not every symptom of an illness needs aggressive treatment.
Over the Hot Air Balloons | Nancy Chong | SPRING 2020
One night there is a request from a call center to respond to a pediatric assault case, and an advocate who is a survivor responds. Her reflection is a moment of reconciliation and healing.
Palpate: To Examine by Touch | Carly Bergey | FALL 2016
A family vacation forces a woman to confront the physical evidence of her father's throat cancer.
Papaya | Laura Vater | FALL 2021
Two different neonatal outcomes offer a lesson in compassion.
Parodoxical Wishes | Dan Luftig | FALL 2013
Should a doctor feel guilty if he wishes for an unusual case? Can anything assuage that guilty feeling?
Pedagogy By the Oppressed: My Journey to Narrative Medicine | Apurva Khedagi | SPRING 2016
Unexpected pathways through the slums of India lead a young woman to a new field.
Peppermint Oil | Julia Michie Bruckner | SPRING 2019
How to find the person under the pathology with pie and a pick-me-up essential oil.
Perilous Privilege | Lisa Jacobs | SPRING 2019
A psychiatrist probes beyond her patient’s depression and simultaneously begins to understand herself.
PICU | Jessica Cheng | FALL 2018
A doctor in the pediatric intensive care unit learns that things are not always what they seem.
Pocketbook | Jill Muhrer | FALL 2022
Sometimes small talk between a patient and clinician reveals the big picture of a long life.
Poetic Therapy | Elaine Benton | SPRING 2013
A patient with Gaucher's and Parkinson's diseases advocates for poems as well as narrative medicine.
Pomegranate Hearts | Michelle Izmaylov | SPRING 2016
What remains when the forgotten parts of an experience are shed?
Popsicle | Leslie Carr | FALL 2021
On a home visit, a nurse realizes that she can only meet people where they are.
Postpartum Blue | Hannah Kimmel Supron | SPRING 2023
A medical student prepares for her first child while studying birth defects of patients.
Ready or Not | H. Lee Kagan | SPRING 2014
What is our responsibility to witness a death when there is no one else there to witness?
The Reluctant Ferryman | Colleen Cavanaugh | FALL 2023
In the middle of the night, when silence prevails, a walk with a patient to the ICU stirs up thoughts about what can go wrong when everything seems right.
Remembrance | Jeffrey Millstein | SPRING 2020
An experienced clinician offers a tender and moving homage to his elderly patient and the empty chair left behind by his patient’s wife.
Renewal | Lauren Klingman | SPRING 2024
How does your garden grow? In the center of a worldwide pandemic, the question can be answered one emotional day at a time.
The Right Choice | Vanessa Van Doren | FALL 2020
Lessons learned: A resident physician discovers how understanding patients as people can profoundly impact medical decision-making and patient care.
Robes the Color of Saffron | Hannah Wellman | FALL 2017
When healing isn't an option, time's passage offers hope.
Running on COVID-19 Time | Noé D. Romo | FALL 2020
One doctor’s coping mechanism during trying times.
Say OM | Divya Manikandan | FALL 2022
A medical assistant finds a piece of her own faith and culture in the midst of Christian religiosity, allowing her to tap into her Hinduism and heritage to provide compassionate and involved care.
Scrap of a Story | Collin Mulcahy | FALL 2018
Jolted out of complacency, a young doctor identifies with a patient and learns something important about himself.
Seeking Clarity | Liz Morris | FALL 2021
Even the knowledge of what’s to come doesn’t prepare a family to make sense of their loss.
Semantics in the Elevator | Philip Berry | FALL 2016
Going up? A doctor narrates the complexities of apology within care.
Seven Hundred Fifty-Four Kilometers | Heli Patel | SPRING 2018
How many miles would you walk for a medical procedure? A tale about a father and a son who traveled the distance for a crucial operation.
Shift/Change | Aya Sato | SPRING 2018
Nurturing, comforting, chatting, attending: the responsibilities of a doula at an abortion clinic go beyond clinical procedures.
So Sorry to Bother You, But I Might Die If You Don’t Wear a Mask | Katherine Macfarlane | FALL 2020
An immunocompromised patient’s daily realities trying to survive life during COVID-19.
Split | Hanna Saltzman | SPRING 2021
Reflecting on a year filled with tension, anxiety, and frustration, a provider finds a moment of release.
Stairwell Reflections | Steffi Gauguet | SPRING 2024
At 3am, after the long hours of back-to-back shifts, a pediatric intensive care physician tries to make sense of the punishing workload so many clinicians face every day.
Strength and Courage | David Pineles | FALL 2014
A patient’s mother gives a doctor a lifesaving lesson during pediatric rounds.
Stroppy Sevens | Trisha K. Paul | FALL 2019
A young boy who terrifies those who care for him instead offers an unexpected surprise.
Stuck | Padmavathi Karri | FALL 2019
Life after prison doesn’t feel entirely free.
Stuck | Vik Reddy | SPRING 2015
A close call brings a medical newcomer to a realization about drawing blood—and his calling.
Suffer Little Children | Pranav Nanda | FALL 2015
A reflection on the initial exposure to suffering, and the price of inaction.
Supplication | Kshama Bhyravabhotla | SPRING 2021
Sometimes the most healing act one can offer is a gesture of faith.
Susannah and Gizmo | Sarah Smith | FALL 2021
A dog’s love can help heal many wounds.
Taking A History | Anand Jayanti | SPRING 2017
In memory of Doris, who lived a colorful life and inspired a medical student.
Talking in Toys | Hans Steiner | SPRING 2015
Listening to a child who needs help is a form of play with profound implications.
Tell Me A Story: Using Narrative History with Older Patients | Chris Frank | SPRING 2014
Asking about a person's accent or hearing a tale about a moment in history enriches the clinical encounter for everyone involved
The Operation: The Value of Ethnography in Highlighting Social and Personal Complexity | Vaidehi Mujumdar | FALL 2014
In the heart of Mumbai, a researcher comes to understand the value of sharing stories.
Therapy Space | Andrea Hansell | SPRING 2016
Will you pass the "Cockroach test"?
There's A Limit To Your Love | Margot Hedlin | SPRING 2017
A medical student questions the ways compassion might stand in the way of effective medical care.
Things I Learned About Myself on My Surgery Clerkship | Stephanie Yarnell | FALL 2012
When doctors don't listen—to patients and to each other—a needless tragedy can occur.
This is Not a New Story | Benjamin Rattray | FALL 2021
A pattern continues that neither the families in need or the providers that treat them can ignore.
Toe Talk | Barbara West | SPRING 2022
Call it a ‘pensive pedicure’ moment—an appointment for ‘Medically Indicated Foot Care’ allows a practitioner to hear what a patient has to say—and it’s got nothing to do with nail polish.
Toenail Chronicles | Hugh Silk | SPRING 2017
Sometimes a small act of humility can make a big impression on a new patient.
To Pronounce | Thomas J. Doyle | SPRING 2018
A physician remembers how to preserve humanity when diagnosing death.
To Speak | Krishna Chaganti | SPRING 2024
On a routine check-in, a dying patient unexpectedly says, ‘I love you,’ and the memory of that moment causes a young doctor to wonder about her reaction.
20 Minutes | Andrea Eisenberg | SPRING 2017
How do we make the transition from caring about ourselves to caring for our patients? A meditation on the drive to do that.
Uncoupling | Matthew Lorenz | SPRING 2022
Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound of a pacemaker ticking on in the mind of a doctor long after time of death has been called.
Unexpected | Catherine Klatzker | FALL 2020
A mandatory Language Interpretation class for medical assistants reawakens dreams of making a difference.
Viola Strings and Other Troubles: Mentoring a Medical Student's Artistic Endeavors | Erica Fletcher | SPRING 2014
Being in tune with others involves listening to what they say and considering what they need.
Voices | Susan Hannah | FALL 2011
We hear you: In their daily lives, clinicians listen and respond to a multitude of messages.
We Can Offer You Some Helpful Resources | Renata Louwers | SPRING 2021
Advocating for end-of-life care—for both patient and caregiver—reveals how difficult it is.
Weathering the Weather | Andrea Eisenberg | SPRING 2023
Confronting the cold realities of motherhood, each issue as unique as the snowflakes falling outside the maternity ward.
The Weight | Vik Reddy | SPRING 2019
A physician looks back to humbly acknowledge the weight of his early mistakes
We Should All Be Storytellers | Giannina Muncey | SPRING 2019
To help a grieving family find acceptance, a doctor offers anecdote instead of advice
What Did La Abuela See? | Nancy Glass | FALL 2019
Abuela’s intuition and experience transcend medical knowledge.
What Does a Doctor Look Like? | Lara Devgan | SPRING 2014
Medical competence is judged in many ways, but the perception of it is often predictable.
What Does A Patient Advocate Do? | Ellen Kolton | FALL 2013
There are times when a person who has seemingly lost everything teaches another what matters.
What Makes Them Tick | Crystal Lemus | FALL 2022
First-day jitters make a medical student triple-check directions, look up the term “narrative interviewing” and then, finally, understand the secret for an empathetic practice.
What My Dying Father Taught Me | Colleen Corcoran | FALL 2020
Not knowing what’s best for her patients, nor her father.
What No One Teaches You | Colleen Cavanaugh | FALL 2022
Delivering difficult news remains one of the most challenging moments in a doctor’s life.
When the Patient Has No Money | Wentiirim B. Annankra | SPRING 2024
During a day of training in a hospital in Nepal, a pediatric ER resident sees first-hand exactly what rupees can buy.
Willing to Die | Andrea Eisenberg | FALL 2019
A woman’s maternal desire is stronger than her doctor’s orders.
With Dignity | Ashley Chapman | SPRING 2016
A young medical student learns about loss while observing a veteran physician's empathy.
Witness | Annie Robinson | FALL 2013
Observations at a clinic in the Bronx reveal the important role a doula plays in the clinical encounter.
Witness: On Telling | Josephine Ensign | FALL 2017
Illness narratives can be expressed in different forms; carefully listening to each is how healing begins.
Wound Care | Craig Blinderman | SPRING 2022
What is meant by wounded healer crystalizes in narration of palliative care for a professor of molecular biology whose poor prognosis generates consternation around dignified death.
Writing the Cure | Linda Kobert | SPRING 2016
An unexpected diagnosis inspires a nurse to pursue alternative methods of self-care.
Yours | Nina Gaby | SPRING 2020
Boxes hold memories, ephemera and important papers that move from place to place. But when a patient doesn’t return after entrusting a sealed manila envelope with a police report about a mother’s death to a therapist, it is hard to know whose memory it becomes.
Zebras | Wendy Tong | SPRING 2021
A subway ride provides the space to remember the lessons from an encounter with a patient.