The Surgeon's Floor
DEAN ADKINS UMKC MEDICAL STUDENT
The Surgeon's Floor is an abstract piece created using acrylic paint on canvas. Dominated by a mix of alizarin crimson red and titanium white, along with contrasting mars black accents, the piece vividly captures the essence of controlled chaos in the operating room. Though appearing random, each blot of crimson represents a meticulous and precise movement of the surgeon's blade.
Tiny Massacres Everywhere
SHRUTI MISHRA UMKC MEDICAL STUDENT
it rained yesterday, and the garden bloomed verdant but on the cement, every step was strewn with the corpses of earthworms - tiny, desiccated husks - their many deaths paid the price for the ripe berries, hanging heavy over the sidewalk. they were doing all they knew how to. stuck in the impossible choice: suffocate in the wet soil that was once your home, or leave and risk the withering. and then there, among their silent graveyard, one wriggles, steadfast in fruitless effort, purpose without direction, for it knows not which way lies salvation. until the gentle lift of a large hand, God-like, returns it to the Earth. and goes on, (careful not to crush their testament to struggle underfoot) to hope Something (large and looming) will help us back to where we belong too.
Rain
PRIYA SURESH KANN UMKC MEDICAL STUDENT
The translator of feelings, of grief, of complaints, of symptoms, of mood The filler of silence between the patient’s words Swiftly pitter-patters away as the room stands still Freezes at the sound of details that don’t matter But details that aren’t typed are the parts of the story that do matter For there are no keystrokes for tears
Standardized Patient Care
JESSICA WHITFIELD UMKC MEDICAL STUDENT
When you say that you’re an S.P., people don’t know what you mean Some think it’s like the Seinfeld episode when Kramar had V.D. I do relate to Mickey and Kramer fighting over the meningitis case But jaundice I could do without, having yellow all over my face Some think it must be easy, just pretending to be ill Just cough a few times then you have the whole day to kill It takes much more than that, there’s case facts to memorize Surgeries, meds, family history, sometimes you have to improvise I often play a teenager, and I’ve been pregnant hundreds of times Sometimes I use my makeup skill to make bruises and black eyes And then we give some feedback and fill out the checklists Sometimes we put on moulage for student dermatologists It takes acting skills too, sometimes you throw a chair or cry When they find out how much work it takes, some often wonder why I like expressing myself and getting out my emotions Don’t worry, I’ve never thrown a chair at the student physicians I get to learn some medical things that I didn’t know before I’ve a different ailment every day, plus I’m never bored I hope I’m helping doctors improve in their line of work I’m only trying to help, even when my character’s a jerk I hope that helps explain the life of an S.P. I’ll see you in the mock exam room at the university.