Poetic Survival: Painting the Fire as it Burns Us

How does reflective practice generally-- and poetry specifically --provide a lens through which we can improve our emotional intelligence, ward off burn-out, and stay true to what brought us into medicine? Dr. Lew speaks to her experience as a surgical resident and poet, sharing work from her book, Insensible Losses, and engaging with the literature as it pertains to her lived experience. Joey Lew holds an MFA in poetry from UNCG and an MD from UCSF and is currently a surgical resident at Duke. She placed first in the 2020 William Carlos Williams National Poetry Competition and the 2022 Lough Mask Poetry Competition, was shortlisted at the 2023 Wolverhampton Literary Festival Poetry Competition and was nominated for a 2024 Pushcart Prize. Her work can be seen in a number of literary magazines including most recently The MacGuffin and The San Antonio Review. Her poetry can also be found in medical journals, including The Journal of Medical Humanities and the American Journal of Surgery. Insensible Losses is her first book.