2012 Hippocrates winning Open and NHS poems in the New Scientist

2012 winner Nick MacKinnon ©Hippocrates Press

@HealthMed The 2012 Hippocrates Awards Symposium are discussed in the New Scientist by Kelley Swain in a feature - 'Balm for the soul: when poetry meets medicine' - which includes the 1st Prize Open and Ist Prize NHS entries in this year's awards.


The extraordinary imagery in the poetry in this year’s winning entries illustrates many themes, from the history of medicine, to the experience of patients and health professionals, and the engagement of researchers in translating new medical ideas into practice: Open winner Mary Bush from North Texas touching on the human side of medical research in her multi-layered poem about the role of women at the forefront of clinical science; and NHS winner Nick MacKinnon illustrating the impact on patients and staff of the progression over the past century of treatment for disorders of the mind.

Fellow organizers Michael Hulse, Sorcha Gunne and I were delighted by the increasing international interest in the interface between poetry and medicine which has been stimulated by the Hippocrates poetry and medicine initiative, with entries from 32 countries this year, and from 44 countries since the launch of the Hippocrates awards in 2009.