It would be hard to decipher which of the following statements is bigger news — “Man bites dog” or “Poet treats doctors.”
Well, the second statement sort of happened this past winter at UNMC, where for eight weeks, seven medical center physicians set aside their Tuesday nights (and maybe a bit of pride) to take part in a creative-writing workshop led by critically-acclaimed poet Steve Langan.
Langan, who teaches poetry in the University of Nebraska master’s of fine arts in writing program, has often experienced the seemingly regenerative powers of art. As he writes, ruts disappear, his perspective can shift and magic becomes present in daily life.
“I see this partly as a form of therapy,” Langan said of his writing. “I wondered what would happen if I could assemble physicians and encourage them to begin, return to or expand creative writing projects.”
So as part of his Ph.D. thesis, Langan paired the seven physicians, or “lab rats” as one of the participating doctors called he and his medical colleagues, with seven Omaha-area writers for weekly workshops.
During these meetings, the doctors and the writers would share and critique each others’ writing in an effort to get each participant to create publishable work — one of Langan’s primary points of emphasis throughout the project.
Four of the physicians and five of the writers who participated in the project will present original works during a reading Saturday at the Bookwork in Omaha’s Countryside Village at 87th and Pacific streets. The reading runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The writing experience of the participating doctors varied. Some had extensive creative writing history and others did not.
During the workshops, some doctors contributed poetry and prose, one physician submitted a form letter he would give to medical students who considered residencies in his particular field and another doctor had the workshop group meet at his house where he played music composed in his basement studio.
With the workshops, Langan wanted to bring the doctors out of their comfort zones by placing them in an environment where they were not the experts on the subject at hand — a stark contrast to the clinical setting where doctors are the authorities.
Often the workshops would seemingly flip the patient-doctor dynamic as the writers critically and objectively examine the physicians’ work much as a physician would a patient.
While the prospect of such criticism left Debra Reilly, M.D., apprehensive, the associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery found the workshop process to be helpful, educational and enlightening.
“My least favorite part of the project was the stress I felt as my turn to submit my work approached,” said Dr. Reilly, who wrote her first poem during the project. “But I survived and came away with useful ideas.”
Dr. Reilly is among the physicians who will present work during Saturday’s reading.
The project has altered the way she thinks, she said, in that she has written more poems since her initial endeavor and her inner dialogue has taken on a poetic bent.
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Molly O’Dell, M.D., an adjunct associate professor of pediatrics at UNMC, said her favorite aspect of the project was that the physician participants allowed themselves to open up and write very personal pieces.
“It has been a long, long time since I’ve experienced this level of vulnerability among physician colleagues,” said Dr. O’Dell, who also will read on Saturday.
Lloyd Holm, D.O., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, said the project has had a fairly profound impact on him.
“I found that it has affected my approach to things, both clinical and non-clinical, in terms of critical thinking,” Dr. Holm said. “In my reading I find myself analyzing sentence structure, plot transitions and the mechanics of writing. In my work, my thoughts are both more reflective and critical.”
Dr. Holm, who has written creatively in the past and had work published in journals, found the project renewed his interest for writing and energized him in several facets of life, including his work.
“This has reminded me of how much I have observed in my career and that writing is an incredibly valuable tool in terms of sharing these stories,” Dr. Holm said.
Dr. Holm’s comments, Langan said, seem to fall in line with his notions of writing’s therapeutic value.
“I have been told by the doctors, informally and in different ways, that this work has indeed been helpful to them,” Langan said.
Many of the writers took much from the project, too, Langan said.
“The writers had a good time,” Langan said. “They had a chance to serve as guides to the doctors and they got to show off their talents and skills a bit.”
Some of the writers and the doctors have initiated plans to continue the workshops on a regular basis and to expand the group by inviting physician writers from the entire Omaha community.
Also, Langan said, some of the physicians involved in the project help set UNMC’s curriculum and are considering a push to create a elective creative writing track for medical school training.
“What I’ve learned is that getting out of one’s comfort zone is a great help to doctors,” Langan said. “Engaging in writing and other such artistic endeavors can really invigorate these health professionals and could provide a defense against burn out.”