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Medicine is firmly rooted in the sciences and derives much of its great power and influence from these roots. In this paper the author, with a career in clinical medicine, argues that there must also be room in medical practice for literature and poetry. He uses examples to build a case for this inclusion helping both patients and doctors in ways which are not in conflict with science but rather allow a much more complete and compassionate picture of the human interactions that are the essence of medicine. The paper argues that a greater understanding of literature and poetry written both by those inside medicine and those observing medicine from the outside can help in crucial ways to guide and sustain doctors, and thus their patients, when wielding the extraordinary power of scientific medicine.

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BACKGROUND: Previous findings implicated rumination (recurrent dwelling on abstract concerns) in elevated psychological distress in palliative patients. We hypothesised that reducing rumination may be important in addressing psychological distress in palliative care. AIM: This study tested the prediction that a brief guided self-help technique targeting abstract rumination would reduce psychological distress in palliative patients. DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial evaluated 4 weeks of guided self-help that involved patients practising thinking more concretely by recalling specific and vivid memories of when they were completely absorbed in an activity or scene. Participants completed a combination of standardised questionnaires to assess anxiety, depression, and quality of life. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Palliative care patients who were reporting clinically significant psychological distress, whilst also physically well enough to take part in the trial were recruited from hospices in Devon and Somerset and randomised to either a treatment condition (n = 19) receiving 4 weeks of guided self-help, or a waiting-list control condition (n = 15) receiving treatment as usual. RESULTS: As predicted, the palliative patients receiving the intervention reported significantly greater reductions in anxiety than the waiting-list controls (F(1,23) = 20.55, p < 0.001, partial η (2) = 0.47). However, no significant effect was found on depression or quality of life. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that a brief guided self-help intervention based on concreteness training can be effective in addressing anxiety in palliative care.

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BACKGROUND: This study is the first to explore how rumination or recurrent dwelling may contribute to psychological distress in palliative care. We hypothesised that rumination is important in palliative care because: (1) rumination is triggered by significant life events; (2) the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness means the reevaluation of a number of personal goals, which may become unattainable, and, thereby, lead to rumination; (3) palliative care patients and caregivers report a number of existential concerns, which in their style and content are characteristic of rumination. METHODS: This study adopted a cross-sectional design, comparing samples of palliative care patients (n = 36), their caregivers (n = 29), and an age-matched control group (n = 30). Participants completed a combination of standardized questionnaires to assess their levels of anxiety, depression, and rumination, and open-ended interviews to identify the concerns they were ruminating on and their idiosyncratic experience of rumination. RESULTS: As predicted, palliative care patients and their caregivers reported significantly more psychological distress than the control group. Palliative care patients and their caregivers also reported significantly more rumination on existential concerns (e.g., about the future) than the control group. The frequency of existential concerns and measures of rumination reported by participants positively correlated with increased psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The results support the importance of addressing rumination on existential concerns in palliative care because of its association with psychological distress. Rumination was identified as a mechanism that may be important in addressing psychological distress in palliative care.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of commercially available magnetic bracelets for pain control in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. DESIGN: Randomised, placebo controlled trial with three parallel groups. SETTING: Five rural general practices. PARTICIPANTS: 194 men and women aged 45-80 years with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. INTERVENTION: Wearing a standard strength static bipolar magnetic bracelet, a weak magnetic bracelet, or a non-magnetic (dummy) bracelet for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis lower limb pain scale (WOMAC A) after 12 weeks, with the primary comparison between the standard and dummy groups. Secondary outcomes included changes in WOMAC B and C scales and a visual analogue scale for pain. RESULTS: Mean pain scores were reduced more in the standard magnet group than in the dummy group (mean difference 1.3 points, 95% confidence interval 0.05 to 2.55). Self reported blinding status did not affect the results. The scores for secondary outcome measures were consistent with the WOMAC A scores. CONCLUSION: Pain from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee decreases when wearing magnetic bracelets. It is uncertain whether this response is due to specific or non-specific (placebo) effects.

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