Introducing his talk as a "poetry reading," physician Jack Coulehan explored the intersection between creativity and the practice of medicine in a Tuesday lecture titled "Passion, Poetry, and Medicine."
Coulehan spent the majority of his lecture telling stories of his days as a doctor in Pittsburgh and reciting poetry inspired from those experiences. He stressed that though he is not a professional poet, his creative work helped give him a refreshing take on his profession.
"For me, poetry is a natural extension," Coulehan said. He later joked that "it's probably kind of a genetic thing."
In one story, Coulehan — professor emeritus of preventive medicine and senior fellow of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University — told the audience of a poem he wrote for a patient who was stereotyped as an alcoholic by his physicians based solely on his looks and lack of an education. It was appropriately titled "I'm Gonna Slap Those Doctors."
The poem allowed him to "give voice to the feelings" his patient had, Coulehan said. "That was the most therapeutic thing I did for the patient," he added.
Coulehan read all his poems with strength and vigor, always taking the time to explain the stories behind the words. His themes included a curiosity as to what the world is about, feelings of fraudulence and fears of losing control.
These themes are not limited to medicine, Coulehan added.
During the question-and-answer session after the talk, the audience, made up mostly of medical students, expressed enthusiasm for the lecture.
His talk helped show that the humanities can give insights that science cannot, said Kevin Liou '10 MD'14. "It's about starting a dialogue," he added.
The lecture was the first in a new series titled the Creative Physician Series. It was co-sponsored by the Cogut Center for the Humanities, the Creative Arts Council and the Department of Emergency Medicine.
