if you happened to pass by room 2
in a medical practice somewhere uptown
some time in the spring
you would’ve heard
laughter
a medical student and her patient
giggling like toddlers
right in the middle of the cranial nerve exam
what a thing to hear
if only i could write that prescription
laughter po prn
no copay required
About the poet:
Slavena Salve Nissan is an aspiring physician-writer and a third-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. She was introduced to poetry as a second grader, and it was love at first sight. Her poetry has appeared in in-Training and Hektoen International.
About the poem:
“When I was a first-year student, I worked with a wonderful patient whom I got to know over the course of several months. We always laughed a lot together, and he taught me a number of lessons about the foundations of empathic clinical care.”
Poetry editors:
Johanna Shapiro and Judy Schaefer
8 thoughts on “laughter po prn”
Laughter is so healing. It helps us get through the best of times and the worst of times, as a great writer has said.
Absolutely!! Laughter is a gift.
Perfect selection for the first weekend of spring…
Slavena, I visited In-Training and stayed for a long while. Very impressive. PS Your smile is so warm. I just read the poem again and could easily envision you ‘giggling’.
Thank you for the kind words!!
I hope you do write that prescription. Why not?
Lovely poem. Lovely image that I will carry with me today.
Thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Lovely. And so true.
Thank you!!