McMaster Paediatric Residency Literary Companion
“Empathy isn’t just listening, it’s asking those question whose answers need to be
listened to. Empathy requires inquiry as much as imagination. Empathy requires
knowing you know nothing. Empathy means acknowledging a horizon of context that
extends perpetually beyond what you can see.”
Leslie Jamison, the Empathy Exams, pp 5 (1).
Competency in the practice of clinical medicine relies on the physician’s ability to
interpret information conveyed by patients. It relies on the ability to understand complex
narratives from different sources – the patient’s vocalized and hidden account of their
presentation, the story their physical body tells, and the narrative of their disease. Over
the past decade, increasing attention has been paid to the disciplines of narrative
medicine and medical humanities (2). Exposure to creative works allows for
development of skills essential for the practice of medicine, especially empathy (3, 4).
Exposure to patients’ and physicians’ stories outside of the traditional biomedical
paradigm helps cultivate humility, a prerequisite for compassionate care (5).
The McMaster Paediatric Residency Literary Companion has been designed as an
optional exposure to the humanities for paediatrics residents. A selection of creative
works has been curated for each rotation, with input from the appropriate educational
resource person. The curriculum is meant to spark discussion between residents, staff
physicians and patients and inspire reflective practice by residents (6). Humanities
curriculums are becoming increasingly common at the medical school level (7); to our
knowledge, this is the first example of a paediatric-specific humanities curriculum.
1.
Jamison L. The Empathy Exams. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press; 2014. 218 p.
2.
Charon R. Narrative medicine: caring for the sick is a work of art. Jaapa.
2013;26(12):8.
3.
Miller E, Balmer D, Hermann N, Graham G, Charon R. Sounding narrative
medicine: studying students' professional identity development at Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons. Acad Med. 2014;89(2):335-42.
4.
Kidd DC, Castano E. Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. Science
(New York, NY). 2013;342(6156):377-80.
5.
Nowaczyk MJ, Carey JC. Narrative medicine: a call to pens. Am J Med Genet A.
2013;161A(9):2117-8.
6.
Mann K, Gordon J, MacLeod A. Reflection and reflective practice in health
professions education: a systematic review. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract.
2009;14(4):595-621.
7.
Peterkin A. 2016. [cited 2016]. Available from:
https://utmedhumanities.wordpress.com/.
Adolescent Medicine
Allergy and
Immunology
CAAP
Cardiology
There Once Was a Girl by Katy
Waldman (Essay, anorexia nervosa)
A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka (Short
story, food restriction)
She Will No Longer Take Her Food by
Ron Charach (Poem, anorexia
nervosa)
History of the Rain by Niall Williams
(Excerpt, coping with chronic illness)
Referential by Lorrie Moore (Short
story, self-harm)
Interferon by Miroslav Holub (Poem)
Introduction to Asthma by Susan
Eisenberg (Poem)
The Double Image by Anne Sexton
(Poem, child apprehension)
Admission, Children’s Unit by
Theodore Deppe (Poem, nonaccidental injury)
Foster Care by Terry Wolverton (Poem,
foster care)
Little Things by Raymond Carver
(Short story, non-accidental injury)
Grand Rounds by Chris Adrian (Short
story, Munchausen by proxy)
The Girl with the Pimply Face by
William Carlos Williams (Short story,
congenital cardiac, social pediatrics)
The Woman who Could Not Live with
her Faulty Heart by Margaret Atwood
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/cover_story/2015/12/we_ne
ed_to_reject_the_false_narratives_around_anorexia.html
https://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/hungerartist.htm
https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/charach/poem4.htm
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/05/28/referential
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/51058
http://susaneisenberg.com/Site/Perp_Poem.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/53110
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/theodoredeppe/admission-children-s-unit/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/52919
http://genius.com/Raymond-carver-little-things-annotated
http://granta.com/grand-rounds/
https://utmedhumanities.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/the-girl-with-apimply-face-william-carlos-williams/
https://readalittlepoetry.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/the-womanwho-could-not-live-with-her-faulty-heart-by-margaret-atwood/
CTU
Developmental
Paediatrics
Emergency
Medicine
Endocrinology
(Poem, heart disease)
The Old Cardiology Dream by Ron
Charach (Poem, congenital cardiac)
Children’s Hospital by Katie Ford
(Poem, hospital admission)
Red Pigeons by Theodore Deppe
(Poem, hospital admission
The Use of Force by William Carlos
Williams (Short story, general
pediatrics)
The Boy in the Moon by Ian Brown
(Literary Non-Fiction, CFC syndrome)
To a Deaf and Dumb Little Girl by
Hartley Coleridge (Poem, hearing and
vision impairment)
Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson
(Excerpt, fragile x syndrome, cerebral
palsy)
Incarnations of Burned Children by
David Foster Wallace (Short story, burn
injury)
Urgent Care by Dana Levin (Poem,
patient experience in the ER)
Sugar by Frank Huyler (Short story,
toxic ingestion)
‘Out, Out-‘ by Robert Frost (Poem,
traumatic injury)
Ear Examined by Courtney Davis
(Poem, physical examination)
Glucose Self-Monitoring by Katy
Giebenhain (Poem, diabetes)
Sugar by James Dickey (Poem,
diabetes)
http://www.signature-editions.com/index.php/books/trailers
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/58260
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poets/detail/theodore-deppe
http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/force.html
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/52335
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a500/incarnationsburned-children-david-foster-wallace-0900/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/557
42
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/53087
https://sites.google.com/a/georgetown.edu/mdarts/units/unit1/sectio
n-1/ear-poem-courtney-davis-ear-examined
http://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org/columns/detail/033
https://utmedhumanities.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/diabetessugar-by-james-dickey/
Gastroenterology
Genetics
Haematology/Oncology
Infectious Disease
Nephrology
Neurology
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
(Novel, 5-alpha-reductase deficiency)
A Child’s Book of Sickness and Death
by Chris Adrian (Short story, short-gut
syndrome)
The Still Point of the Turning World by
Emily Rapp (Literary Non-fiction, TaySachs disease)
The Boys by John Terpstra (Excerpt,
Duchenne muscular dystrophy)
Osteosarcoma: A Love Poem by
Yvonne Zipter (Poem, osteosarcoma)
The Doctor by Anton Chekhov (Short
story, brain tumour)
What the Doctor Said by Raymond
Carver (Poem, breaking bad news)
A Tiny Feast by Chris Adrian (Short
story, leukemia)
Tom and Lily by Richard Selzer (Short
story, tuberculosis)
See also: Illness as Metaphor by
Susan Sontag
What is the What by Dave Eggers
(Excerpt, trachomatis)
Flu Vaccine by Susan Eisenberg
(Poem, influenza)
Notes from Dialysis by Hugo Williams
(Poem, dialysis)
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/510
65
http://www.online-literature.com/anton_chekhov/1232/
http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/raymond_carver_doctor.html
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/20/a-tiny-feast
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://susaneisenberg.com/Site/Poems_blind.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/574
64
The Not-Dead and the Saved by Kate
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/fiction/the-not-dead-and-theClanchy (Short story, chronic kidney
saved
disease)
Anencephaly by Miroslav Holub (Poem, https://utmedhumanities.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/anencephaly/
NICU
PICU
Respirology
Rheumatology
neural tube defects)
The Mental Status Exam by Rafael
Campo (Poem, physical exam)
The Aquarium by Aleksandar Hemon
(Essay, brain tumour)
Isolettes by Neil Smith (Short story,
prematurity, end of life)
A mother to her waking infant by
Joanna Baillie (Poem, infancy)
Morning Song by Sylvia Plath (Poem,
infancy)
Lodged by Robert Frost (Poem,
experience of healthcare providers)
A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire,
of a Child in London by Dylan Thomas
(Poem, end of life)
Misery by Anton Chekhov (Short story,
end of life)
“You are not going to come Trillium” by
Madhur Anand (Poem, family
experience)
Dyspnea by Roberto Tejada (Poem,
patient experience)
A River in Egypt by David Means
(Short story, cystic fibrosis)
Asthma Attack by Etgar Keret (Short
story, asthma)
“After great pain, a formal feeling
comes” by Emily Dickinson (Poem,
coping with pain)
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
(Literary Non-fiction, anti-NMDA
receptor encephalitis)
https://utmedhumanities.wordpress.com/2014/03/16/the-mentalstatus-exam-rafael-campo/
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/06/13/the-aquarium
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/a-mother-to-her-wakinginfant/
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/morning-song
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lodged-2/
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/refusal-mourn-death-firechild-london
http://commapress.co.uk/resources/online-short-stories/miseryanton-chekhov
https://thewalrus.ca/you-are-not-going-to-come-trillium/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/53733
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/12/04/a-river-in-egypt
https://tianamayumi.wordpress.com/favorites/asthma-attack-byetgar-keret/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-andpoets/poems/detail/47651
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
Social Paediatrics
Surgery
A Workers Speech to the Doctor by
Bertolt Brecht (Poem, social
determinants of health)
Through Black Spruce by Joseph
Boyden (Excerpt, residential schools)
Hotel Nights with my Mother by Linda
McCarriston (Poem, poverty)
The Ones Who Walk Away From
Omelas by Ursula K. Leguin (Short
story, allegory about justice in society)
“Surgeons must be very careful” by
Emily Dickinson (Poem, responsibility
of surgeons)
People Like That Are the Only People
Here: Canonical Babblings in Peed
Onk by Lorrie Moore (Short story,
Wilms tumour)
https://structuralhealth.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/a-workersspeech-to-a-doctor/
Available in the paediatric resident lounge
http://www.flatheadreservation.org/images/phs/poems/Hotel%20nig
hts%20with%20my%20mother-Linda%20McCarriston.pdf
http://engl210-deykute.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/omelas.pdf
http://www.bartleby.com/113/1042.html
http://jordansebastianbonner.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/04/Moore.pdf
Suggested Longer Texts
1. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugeneides: the coming of age story of an intersex man named Callie with 5-alpha-reductase
deficiency.
2. Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: the memoir of a young woman diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor
encephalitis.
3. A Still Point in the Turning World by Emily Rapp: the memoir of a mother whose son is diagnosed with Tay-Sachs
disease.
4. The Boy in the Moon by Ian Brown: a memoir by the Canadian journalist Ian Brown about the life of his son who
lives with cardiofacial-cutaneous syndrome.
5. Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson: a memoir by Canadian author Craig Davidson about a year spent driving
special needs children to and from school.
6. The Boys by John Terpstra: a memoir by Hamilton author John Terpstra about caring for his three brother in laws
who were born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.