ABSTRACT
It is surprising that the professional literature on the medical student-patient relationship is rather thin, in contrast to research and theorizing about the doctor-patient relationship, which is voluminous. Students generally express strong connections to their patients. Often they see themselves as fellow travelers, a theme that first emerged in some anatomy poems. The sense of connection that students feel in relation to patients is often manifested as a form of witnessing. For example, a poem about a pediatric cancer patient describes a moment of intimacy when the patient rakes the student's hair with her fingers. Students sometimes felt not only connection but also an actual sense of identification with patients. Witnessing poems that examine countertransference have a steadier emotional core that allows the student to move closer to the patient. Students are sometimes unexpectedly transformed by their encounters with patients.
