“The True Weight of Medicine” by Hanshikaa Shyamsundar, Mehreen Rana, Chaitanya Sharma, Wang Yui To, Sungjun Park, Chien Jin Soh, Camilla Shidrawi, Sammith Raj
A long term commitment to a temporary fix
A everyday struggle to remember
In attempt to forget the pain
Boring and endless the days go on
And likewise the pills go down
Loyal to a blue regime
I was in a bad place before
Coming in to check
Again and again and again
Too high, it’s positive
Yellow, helpful & hard to remember
Groans won't let me forget
Easier to take
Every day, morning and evening
Changed my life
Listen, trust, breathe
Throbs and pains,
Weight on my tongue
Sour and bitter
Sweet and woodsy
A heavy swallow
Does it do more damage than good?
Is it wrong to ask will it ever feel better?
The doctor insists I need it
What does that mean?
Funny how we rely on something so small
To get to the root of the issue, much bigger
The more time goes on, the less I am able to question
The dosette box on the bedside table
My best friend, my worst enemy
As long as it does not destroy my body
The best I can hope is to find a middle ground
Nothing is truly black and white
What will they think
What will they say
My loves, my child, my life
The individual or the people
The truth,
The power in these pills
In the end, it is the sensible option
Appreciate the individualised,
Sensible & disciplined
I am not keen on stopping
Like I’d never stop brushing my teeth
Or eating that bowl of cereal in the morning
Getting the same bus to work
Or washing the dishes after dinner
Waking up every day to take pills
So that I can wake up again tomorrow
Maybe not just blue
Maybe it’s action,
Maybe it’s grace
Red-hot and free
It’s lavender
Reflection
As budding doctors being thrown into clinical placements and the hospital environment, we noticed that so much of our focus was directed to diagnosing illnesses and managing disease. Yet often, we fail to consider the harsh changes medicine imposes on patients who just want to return to their normal lives. While treating the patient’s condition is crucial, it can remain an incomplete solution to the patient’s needs - what the doctor wants may not be what the patient wants.
Looking through our patients’ medication records brought one aspect of the inequalities between doctor and patient into light. While nothing particular stood out at first glance, only when we took the time to examine each medicine prescribed did we begin to feel that our patients’ voices were not being heard as much as we would expect in this era of patient-centred care.
Most poignantly, this was seen during one home visit we conducted, where we encountered a patient who had accumulated a stack of missed medication boxes in the corner of her room. This was quite shocking for us all but made us realise how important it is to fully include the patient's experiences and understanding into the consultation, as well as the consequences of not doing so. It felt as though, despite teachings on patient care and improving medication adherence, the simple truth of a patient as a human was being neglected. Being exposed to this contrast between paper and reality led to a feeling akin to a cold shower.
Our poem was created from words and phrases taken directly from patient interviews about their personal experiences with medication. We asked each patient that we spoke to for words and colours they associated with their pills, which became a prominent theme throughout the poem. Their vivid contributions have been speckled through both the poem and the audio reading. Through the voices of patients burdened by the weight of pills and tablets, our poem hopes to deliver a moment of reflection, delving into the simple concept of treating a disease yet unravelling the complexity between the doctor-patient approach and reaching for the tantalising art of compromise and inclusivity.