{"id":333,"date":"2011-07-08T20:33:15","date_gmt":"2011-07-08T19:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=333"},"modified":"2012-06-13T09:56:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T08:56:16","slug":"james-poskett-a-poetic-triumph-over-the-x-ray-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2011\/07\/08\/james-poskett-a-poetic-triumph-over-the-x-ray-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"James Poskett: A poetic triumph over the X-ray machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

In what begins as an \u2018unassuming extension of the ears\u2019 and later develops into a \u2018triumph over the x-ray machine\u2019, Anne Merritt\u2019s recently published poem, Stethoscope<\/em>, neatly captures the development of a unique medical relationship that has little to do with patients: one between a doctor and the instruments with which she plies her trade.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/mh.bmj.com\/content\/early\/2011\/02\/16\/jmh.2010.005520<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Michel Foucault famously drew attention to the stethoscope\u2019s role in creating distance between patient and doctor: silence a requirement for the instrument\u2019s use. What is exciting about Merritt\u2019s poem is that, rather than focusing on this silence, she exposes the hidden dialogue that takes place between doctor and stethoscope, with the stethoscope not only serving to extend the doctor\u2019s gaze but also acting as a physical extension of her embodied self.<\/p>\n

This anthropomorphised companion listens, comforts and discovers, all with \u2018loving grace\u2019. For Merritt, the stethoscope not only shares her duties but in some cases even ventures forward, thereby allowing Merritt to \u2018maintain a safe distance\u2019. Rather than seeing this as loveless detachment, Merritt credits the stethoscope with a positive, therapeutic role, challenging the idea that patients are universally alienated by the cold touch of the stethoscope\u2019s bell, and suggesting instead that it can represent the comforting presence of the doctor.<\/p>\n

It is perhaps fitting that the poem ends with Merritt turning the stethoscope on herself, but, tellingly, her response to its touch is necessarily different to that of her patients. Whereas patients only experience the stethoscope for a fleeting moment, many physicians will have spent hours listening to the beat of their own heart. Where patients might therefore feel anxious, waiting in silence for the doctor\u2019s response, Merritt is reassured by the evidence of her own vitality.<\/p>\n

Finally, Merritt\u2019s exploration of the doctor-stethoscope relationship prompts a question: how do physicians relate to the other instruments they use, such as the aforementioned x-ray machine? Indeed, will we be seeing poems entitled Endoscope<\/em> or CT Scanner<\/em> in the future? And, if not, why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what begins as an \u2018unassuming extension of the ears\u2019 and later develops into a \u2018triumph over the x-ray machine\u2019, Anne Merritt\u2019s recently published poem, Stethoscope, neatly captures the development of a unique medical relationship that has little to do with patients: one between a doctor and the instruments with which she plies her trade. […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[773],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetics"],"yoast_head":"\nJames Poskett: A poetic triumph over the X-ray machine - Medical Humanities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2011\/07\/08\/james-poskett-a-poetic-triumph-over-the-x-ray-machine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Poskett: A poetic triumph over the X-ray machine - Medical Humanities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In what begins as an \u2018unassuming extension of the ears\u2019 and later develops into a \u2018triumph over the x-ray machine\u2019, Anne Merritt\u2019s recently published poem, Stethoscope, neatly captures the development of a unique medical relationship that has little to do with patients: one between a doctor and the instruments with which she plies her trade. 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