Leaving My Heart at the Door
At first, my heart pauses: frozen from shock. / But, within a few seconds, I start to take stock.
Internal Medicine
Fellow Physician Contributing Writer
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University
Beatrice Preti is a PGY-4 fellow in medical oncology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario.
Home Visit
A smear of what I assumed was cat poop obstructed a narrow asphalt path that led to a mobile home. It was raining. I tiptoed around the sopping heap of excrement. Behind me, the wound care attending physician followed.
A Night to Remember
I remember feeling resentful that he seemed too healthy to have come to the ER in the first place, while I, on the other hand, was shuffling around as if walking ankle-deep in wet cement, dead tired and longing to stretch out on the gurney in the adjoining cubicle.
To My Mentors
I did not stay down / I did not give up
No Insurance
my patient does not have insurance / he asks me to address his concerns
Healing in Relationship Lies
Illness lies hidden in our ways / Influenced by the unconscious gaze.
Big Nails on Examination Day
I love working as a resident physician, but truly detest taking exams. However, life seems to only give you more of what you fear, so I recently found myself responsible for my residency program’s weekly clinical grand rounds.
A Second Home (2019)
Scared and frightened, we came in as interns / We had the knowledge, but we needed direction
Poodle Blue
Like most times on call, the day had been busy. / I’d been running in circles, my head in a tizzy.
Mastectomy Shadows
I used to joke that after having my twin girls, my breasts no longer belonged to me. / Forget about possession, let’s talk about existence.
Atrophied Dreams
I waited for nine months to meet you. / I know that one night I loved a woman and then you, a blackberry of cells, found your place in her fertile garden and you grew there
On Growing
“Good morning, I’m Dr. Watt and I’m going to be taking care of you today.”
Peer Reviewer Emeritus
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Melanie is a PGY-1 resident in internal medicine-pediatrics at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. She is a proud alumnus of Louisiana State University and LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine, and yes, she does bleed purple and gold.