Auscultation

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An immersive reading of [O sweet spontaneous] by E.E. Cummings with reflection on ways of understanding, science, and the clinician patient relationship

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https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

[O sweet spontaneous] by E.E. Cummings

O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting

             fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked

thee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy

        beauty      how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and

buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
         (but
true

to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover

             thou answerest

them only with

                              spring)

References:

Poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148505/o-sweet-spontaneous-5bf31932ce110

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An immersive reading of "Hollow-Sounding and Mysterious" by Christina Rossetti with reflection on Grave’s disease, hyperthyroidism, and hopelessness.

Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work: 

"Hollow-Sounding and Mysterious"
by Christina Rossetti

There's no replying
To the Wind's sighing,
Telling, foretelling,
Dying, undying,
Dwindling and swelling,
Complaining, droning,
Whistling and moaning,
Ever beginning,
Ending, repeating,
Hinting and dinning,
Lagging and fleeting—
We've no replying
Living or dying
To the Wind's sighing.

What are you telling,
Variable Wind-tone?
What would be teaching,
O sinking, swelling,
Desolate Wind-moan?
Ever for ever
Teaching and preaching,
Never, ah never
Making us wiser—
The earliest riser
Catches no meaning,
The last who hearkens
Garners no gleaning
Of wisdom's treasure,
While the world darkens :—
Living or dying,
In pain, in pleasure,
We've no replying
To wordless flying
Wind's sighing.

References:

A Pageant and Other Poems (1881) https://books.google.com/books?id=9Sk-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false  

Arseneau M, Terrell E. “Our Self-Undoing”: Christina Rossetti’s Literary and Somatic Expressions of Graves’ Disease. Humanities. 2019; 8(1):57. https://doi.org/10.3390/h8010057

https://www.thyroid.org/about-american-thyroid-association/history/clark-t-sawin-history-resource-center/thyroid-history-timeline/ 

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An immersive viewing of The Scream by Edvard Munch with reflection on fear, jaundice, aliens and anxiety. 

 Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

 By Edvard Munch - National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69541493  

References:

Friedlaender GE, Friedlaender LK. Edvard Munch and The Scream: A Cry for Help. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2018 Feb;476(2):200-202. 

Rosenblum, Robert (1978). "Introduction". Edvard Munch: Symbols & Images (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. p. 8. 

Finger S, Sirgiovanni E. The electrified artist: Edvard Munch's demons, treatments, and sketch of an electrotherapy session (1908-1909). J Hist Neurosci. 2024 Jul-Sep;33(3):241-274.

https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/please-explain/october-2023/please-explain-why-do-we-scream 

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An immersive reading of Disappear by Andrea Reilly with reflection on clinical spaces, inadequacy, and anorexia.

Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

Disappear by Andrea Reilly: https://www.alphaomegaalpha.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/C3_AUT23.pdf 

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An immersive reading of The Roses by Seth Peterson with reflection on boundaries, aging and decline. 

Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

Peterson S. The Roses. JAMA. 2025;333(16):1461. 

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2832004 

Seth Peterson: 

Bluesky: @drsethPT

X: @sethpeterson.bsky.social 

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An immersive reading of excerpts from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas translated by Lowell Bair with reflection on alternative and complementary care, rosemary and plot devices

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https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

excerpts from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas translated by Lowell Bair

“My son, all I have to give you is fifteen ecus, my horse, and the advice you’ve just heard. Your mother will give you the recipe for an ointment that a Gypsy woman taught her how to make: it miraculously heals any wound that doesn’t reach the heart. Make the most of all these gifts, and have a long, happy life.”  

“At five o’clock the next morning d’Artagnan got up, went to the kitchen, and, among  several other ingredients that history has not revealed to us, asked for some wine, olive oil, and rosemary. Then he made an ointment, which he put on his many wounds. He changed the compresses himself and would not allow the doctor to be called in. Thanks to the efficacy of the Gypsy ointment and also, perhaps, to the absence of the doctor, by that evening he was back on his feet, and by the next day he had almost completely recovered.”

“[It was] an isolated, sinister-looking little house in the distance. […] the man whom Athos had found with such difficulty lead him into his laboratory, where he had been wiring together the clattering bones of a skeleton. The body was assembled and the head lay on the table. Everything else in the room showed that he was devoted to the study of the natural sciences: there were labeled jars with snakes in them; dried lizards in black wooden frames gleamed like cut emeralds; bundles of fragrant herbs, no doubt endowed with powers unknown to ordinary men, hung from the ceiling.” 

References:

de Macedo LM, Santos ÉMD, Militão L, Tundisi LL, Ataide JA, Souto EB, Mazzola PG. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., syn Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) and Its Topical Applications: A Review. Plants (Basel). 2020 May 21;9(5):651.

Cervantes Saavedra, M. d., & Grossman, E. (2005). Don Quixote. 1st Ecco pbk. ed. Ecco.

Dumas, Alexandre, and Lowell Bair. The Three Musketeers. New York, Bantam Dell, 2004.

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An immersive reading of Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin translated by Hildegarde Serle with reflection on nursing homes, caregivers, loneliness and dementia. 

Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

“How's it going today, Monsieur Girardot?”
"My wife has died."
"That was a long time ago, now."
"You know, when you've lost the person you loved most in the world, you lose her every day."

"How's it going today, Monsieur Duclos?"
"Shut it, stupid bitch."
"Well, I say, you're going strong this morning."
"How the hell d'you think it's going?"
"Like a late summer."
"Stupid bitch."
"I can be. Come on, time to get up."
"What the hell are you doing?"
"You need to have a wash, Monsieur Duclos."
"Go fuck yourself."
"Well, I wouldn't say no."
"Asshole."
"OK, I'll see if that's possible."

[…]

"How's it going today, Monsieur Mouron?"
"The pain in my legs ….. Didn't sleep a wink all night."
"I'll ask the doctor to come by this morning, OK?"
"If you like."
"Shall I switch the TV on?"
"No. It's just women's stuff in the morning."

"How's it going today, Madame Minger?"
"Someone's stolen my glasses."
"Really? Have you looked everywhere?"
"Everywhere. I'm sure it's old Houdenot who's at it again."
"Madame Houdenot? Why would she have stolen your glasses?"
"To annoy me, of course."

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An immersive reading of A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne with reflection on medical errors and confession. 

Website:
https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
         Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
         And do run still, though still I do deplore?
                When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
                        For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
         Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
         A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
                When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
                        For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
         My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
         Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
                And, having done that, thou hast done;
                        I fear no more.

References:

Wu AW. Medical error: the second victim. The doctor who makes the mistake needs help too. BMJ. 2000 Mar 18;320(7237):726-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.726. 

Finkelstein A, Brezis M, Taub A, Arad D. Disclosure following a medical error: lessons learned from a national initiative of workshops with patients, healthcare teams, and executives. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2024 Mar 11;13(1):13.

Rodziewicz TL, Houseman B, Vaqar S, et al. Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. [Updated 2024 Feb 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000. PMID: 25077248.

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An immersive reading of Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds with reflection on psychotherapy, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and vision loss. 

Website:

https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work: 

Thoughts by Myra Viola Wilds

   In your travels day by day

Are they bright and lofty visions, 

   Or neglected, gone astray?

Matters not how great in fancy, 

    Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought; 

Man, though high may be his station, 

    Is no better than his thoughts. 

Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly, 

   Let each one an honor be; 

Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly, 

   Then in love set each one free.

References:

Chand SP, Kuckel DP, Huecker MR. Cognitive Behavior Therapy. [Updated 2023 May 23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470241/

(2025, March 5). Overview - Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). nhs.uk. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/overview/ 

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A review of the highlights from the Fall 2024 edition of Intima

Website:
https://anauscultation.wordpress.com

Work:

Changing the Bag by Paul Shovlin: https://www.theintima.org/changing-the-bag-paul-shovlin 

Dear Rescue Worker by Joan Roger: https://www.theintima.org/dear-rescue-worker-joan-roger 

Inscribed on a Pill Box by Maya Klauber: https://www.theintima.org/inscribed-on-a-pill-box-maya-klauber 

Omens by Ryan Boyland: https://www.theintima.org/omens-ryan-boyland 

Harmonic Helix by Anna Hostal: https://www.theintima.org/harmonic-helix-by-anna-hostal 

Migraine Nymph with Aura by Elizabeth Baxmeyer: A Being from the Land of Triptan https://www.theintima.org/migraine-nymph-with-aura-elizabeth-baxmeyer 

White Coat Ceremony by Angela Tang Tan: https://www.theintima.org/white-coat-ceremony-angela-tang-tan