TY - JOUR T1 - Poems in practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 93 LP - 93 DO - 10.3399/bjgp14X677211 VL - 64 IS - 619 AU - Trevor Stammers Y1 - 2014/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/64/619/93.abstract N2 - Poetry is communication concentrated. A few words speak volumes. Concise communication is also a key part of general practice so why is poetry not widely recognised as a natural teaching medium in medicine? After the arc of ECTand the blunt concussion of pills,they gave him lithium to cling to —the psychiatrist’s stone.This opening line from Robin Robertson’s Lithium1 is a great example of the power of poetry to impress the patient’s inner feelings on the reader. We see the jumping spark of electricity; we feel the confusion and trauma inflicted by the very medication we … ER -