Be Good to Yourself, Whoever You Are: A Writing Workshop for Medical Students, Doctors, Residents and Health Professionals

Hosted by Ronna Bloom, Poet in Community to the University of Toronto; Poet in Residence in the Health, Arts and Humanities Programme

Often in work, and in life, energy moves towards projects and people but there’s little left for your own restoration, especially for those working in health care. In this workshop, through the use of poems and prompts, you will be nudged into writing and reflecting on what sustains you, what you love and what you need. Take this time for yourself as a flicker of possibility of how you might take time for yourself in general.

No experience necessary. Please have a pen and paper, a notebook or whatever you like to write with on hand. 

Open to all U of T Medical Students, Residents, Physicians and Learners from other disciplines. 

Goals

• Learn five rules for writing that can be used to reflect on one’s work, relationships, and life
• Engage directly with poetry as a tool for expressing challenges and discovering resources
• Explore poetry and writing as practices of self-care

Workshop leader:

Ronna Bloom is a poet and teacher. Her most recent book, The More, was published by Pedlar Press in 2017 and long listed for the City of Toronto Book Award. Her poems have been recorded by the CNIB and translated into Spanish, Bangla, and Chinese. She has collaborated with health care professionals, filmmakers, academics, students, spiritual leaders, and architects. A frequent guest in the faculties of Nursing, Medicine, Public Health, as well at teaching hospitals, she brings 25 years of psychotherapy practice to her work as a poet and facilitator.

Ronna developed the first Poet in Residence program at Sinai Health which ran from 2012-2019. She is currently Poet in Community to the University of Toronto and Poet in Residence in the Health, Arts and Humanities Programme. Her "Spontaneous Poetry Booth" and "RX for Poetry" have been featured in hospitals and fundraisers in Canada and abroad. She runs workshops and gives talks on poetry, spontaneity, and awareness through writing.