Programs
Listener Poet Sessions
Caregiver Haven
Become a Listener Poet
Poems
Poems
Anthologies
News
Community News
Events
In the News
About Us
Why We Listen
Impact & Outcomes
Our Team
Donate
Contact

The Good Listening Project

Programs
Listener Poet Sessions
Caregiver Haven
Become a Listener Poet
Poems
Poems
Anthologies
News
Community News
Events
In the News
About Us
Why We Listen
Impact & Outcomes
Our Team
Donate
Contact
September 30, 2021
2021
Yvette Perry
Re-set

"I grew from the experience – though I think it aged me 10 years!" This is how a resident described a turning point with a specific patient when he recognized how burned out he was.

August 24, 2021
2021
Elle Klassen
Words of Silver

Although he had been through many stressful experiences in his life and recently, he always held onto his positive outlook. He took particular care to use words intentionally, paying attention to their connotations, so that his positivity extended to those that he interacted with as well.

February 4, 2021
2019
Ravenna Raven
In the Cath Lab

“I’ve always loved hearts,” she said. She was a cardiac nurse who had been drawn to a job in the catheterization laboratory. “It’s so rare to have an opportunity to immediately do something good for somebody, but it happens often in the cath lab,” she told me.

October 13, 2020
2020
Frankie Abralind
PPE

She was tired after working twelve straight days on her current rotation. It was her third year of medical school, and she was already feeling burnt out. “I have five more years like this,” she said. “My sister tells me, ‘Keep pushing, you can get through it,’ but I don’t know if I can.”

August 24, 2020
2020
Jenny Hegland
Skin

He had been thinking a lot about race over the past several months. He’s a White man with two children: a 20-year-old biological son who is White, and an 18-year-old adopted daughter who is Black.

Jenny Hegland
September 24, 2020
2020

Innovation Ecosystem

Jenny Hegland
September 24, 2020
2020

This woman was part of a small but mighty team that ran the Innovation Ecosystem within the VA. She arrived visibly excited to share about their work, and after learning more about it, I understand why.

Tagged: Jenny Hegland, Healthcare Staff, Veterans' Affairs Center for Development & Civic Engagement

Ravenna Raven
September 10, 2020
2019

Empathy

Ravenna Raven
September 10, 2020
2019

She talked about how hopeful med students feel when they first start out, and told me she worried that it would get harder for doctors to hold onto hope and empathy the further along they were in their careers.

Tagged: The Gold Humanism Summit, Healthcare Staff, Ravenna Raven

Jenny Hegland
August 24, 2020
2020

Skin

Jenny Hegland
August 24, 2020
2020

He had been thinking a lot about race over the past several months. He’s a White man with two children: a 20-year-old biological son who is White, and an 18-year-old adopted daughter who is Black.

Tagged: Jenny Hegland, Healthcare Staff, Veterans' Affairs Center for Development & Civic Engagement

Jenny Hegland
August 11, 2020
2020

The Flip Side

Jenny Hegland
August 11, 2020
2020

She’d been in a physician leadership role with the VA for seven years. Over her tenure, she’d never seen the system rise as one team like this. “There’s so much we don’t know about COVID. But our teams are stepping up in ways I could never have imagined.”

Tagged: Jenny Hegland, Healthcare Staff, Veterans' Affairs Center for Development & Civic Engagement

Ravenna Raven
June 29, 2020
2020

Seasonal

Ravenna Raven
June 29, 2020
2020

He asked for a poem for his dad — “something beautiful and transitory like blossoms or snowflakes,” he said. He talked about what it’s like to see people change over time, through the seasons.

Tagged: Ravenna Raven, Communities, Family, Nature, Transitions, Nostalgia, Contentment

Ravenna Raven
May 26, 2020
2020

I Already Miss This

Ravenna Raven
May 26, 2020
2020

"I struggled to make friends until my junior year of high school," she said. "Then I finally opened up and became friends with so many people." She was now a freshman at Georgetown University and was learning how to bond with her new peers.

Tagged: Georgetown University Medical Center, Ravenna Raven, Medical Students

Jenny Hegland
May 23, 2020
2020

My Girlfriend

Jenny Hegland
May 23, 2020
2020

Being a poet himself, he was eager to share his word and recite some of his favorite pieces of poetry. He had so much to share, but honed in, requesting a poem about his wife.

Tagged: Jenny Hegland, Communities

Kay McKean
May 20, 2020
2019

Shield to Kindness

Kay McKean
May 20, 2020
2019

“I have a lot of unresolved grief,” she confessed. It was her grief that made her good at empathizing with the hospice community she served. “Would resolving my grief make me less effective with my patients?”

Tagged: The Gold Humanism Summit, Kay McKean, Healthcare Staff

Katherine Gekker
May 18, 2020
2019

Some People Complain

Katherine Gekker
May 18, 2020
2019

She worked as an interpreter at Schar and wanted her poem to be “thanks for allowing me.” Her background in a very repressive regime gave her a unique perspective about the gift of being able to live here, although she had felt anxiety for the past few years.

Tagged: Katherine Gekker, Healthcare Staff, Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Ravenna Raven
May 16, 2020
2020

Why I Take My Time

Ravenna Raven
May 16, 2020
2020

We talked when she had a quick break during her shift at the Infusion Center. She told me how important it was for her to make the most of the moments she had to make connections with people.

Tagged: Ravenna Raven, Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, Healthcare Staff

Elle Klassen
May 12, 2020
2019

I Pour Feverishly

Elle Klassen
May 12, 2020
2019

"I’m ensconced in the system." He was getting paid quite well to do his job in the healthcare sector, but he had internal conflict about how the system worked. He asked me, "Did you know that about 50% of healthcare dollars are spent on the last six months of life?"

Tagged: Erie Shores Healthcare, Elle Klassen, Healthcare Staff

Katherine Gekker
May 8, 2020
2020

What I Loved About My Mother

Katherine Gekker
May 8, 2020
2020

She said she wanted a poem about her mother, who died in October at the age of 90. She painted a compelling portrait of a mother who loved glitter, high heels, and jewelry, while living on a dairy farm.

Tagged: Katherine Gekker, Healthcare Staff

Frankie Abralind
May 2, 2020
2019

Agony and Fulfillment

Frankie Abralind
May 2, 2020
2019

“Relationships — children, grandparents, siblings, spouses, parents are all a reflection of your journey,” she said. “They can be fulfilling or agonizing."

Tagged: The Gold Humanism Summit, Frankie Abralind, Healthcare Staff

Jenny Hegland
April 27, 2020
2020

True Friendship

Jenny Hegland
April 27, 2020
2020

She immediately knew that she didn’t want her poem to be about cancer. She wanted it to be about friendship and asked if she could share a recent story.

Tagged: Georgetown University Medical Center, Jenny Hegland, Patients, Friendship, Gratitude

Kay McKean
April 21, 2020
2019

Time

Kay McKean
April 21, 2020
2019

“It feels like time is running out to make big changes,” she shared. The last 6 months were full of transition in all aspects of her life.

Tagged: The Gold Humanism Summit, Kay McKean, Healthcare Staff, Transitions, Memorial, Optimism

Katherine Gekker
April 17, 2020
2020

It Is Brutal

Katherine Gekker
April 17, 2020
2020

She said she was going through a “brutally difficult” time because she was semi-estranged from her children, all young adults. She knew that this period would not always last, but she also didn’t know how long this time would go on.

Tagged: Katherine Gekker

Elle Klassen
April 16, 2020
2018

the strongest creature

Elle Klassen
April 16, 2020
2018

Being in healthcare can be extremely rewarding, but it comes with the occupational hazard of loss. This woman loved the work she did with dementia patients and the connections she was able to form with them. However, she also struggled with the frequent loss of people she had bonded with.

Tagged: Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, Elle Klassen, Healthcare Staff

Frankie Abralind
April 11, 2020
2020

After This

Frankie Abralind
April 11, 2020
2020

He was an ICU doctor at a hospital in a big city, facing the pandemic head on. Having met him years ago, I noticed during our video chat that he'd shaved his longtime beard. “The N95 mask is a harsh master,” he said.

Tagged: Frankie Abralind, Healthcare Staff

Ravenna Raven
April 7, 2020
2020

Traveling Nurse

Ravenna Raven
April 7, 2020
2020

She told me that she had lived in Florida for 50 years but now that she had an empty nest, she’d become a traveling nurse so she could live in different places. “I was only supposed to be in D.C. for three months,” she said, “but now I’ve been here for nine because I just love it so much.”

Tagged: Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, Ravenna Raven, Healthcare Staff

Jenny Hegland
April 5, 2020
2020

Cat Comfort

Jenny Hegland
April 5, 2020
2020

“I miss my four cats back home,” she said. “Want to see pictures of them?!” She was a graduate student in biotechnology. She explained that the program consumed her life. She saw other students studying abroad, posting pictures of travel and fun, but there was no room for that in her life.

Tagged: Georgetown University Medical Center, Jenny Hegland, Medical Students

Newer Posts
Older Posts

View All Poems


View poems for:

Healthcare Staff

Medical Students

Patients

Communities


Back to Top

Subscribe to the newsletter

Sign up to receive updates, tips, and new stories from the healthcare community.

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!

About

Who We Are

Anthologies for Our Partners

Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy

Connect

What We Do

News & Events

Contact Us

Useful Links

Survey Responses

Poem Publishing FAQ

Photos courtesy of Jeff Krentel Photography, Deborah Raven, A Byrdseye Photo, and Brendan Bush for The Mayo Clinic.

© THE GOOD LISTENING PROJECT

3932 W. St. NW #4 Washington, DC 20007 | EIN #83-2700087