Prescription Poetry

Medicine through the eyes of a poet

“I’ve been writing poetry for as long as I can remember,” says Barbara Swenson, fourth-year medical student.  “Writing for me has been a pastime of relaxation and enjoyment.”

Readers of The Legible Script*, a literary journal published by the students of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, will be able to enjoy two pieces of her writing in the most recent issue. 

Her poems, Three Pound Miracle and The Procedure, were selected for inclusion in the publication.

“More of my writing is short stories and a few novels,” she says. Associate Dean for Student Affairs Judy DeMers says, “I think she’s someone who’s been very artistic throughout most of her life,” noting her accomplishments in music, classical ballet, ice-skating and other pursuits.

As an ice-skater, one of her many awards was being named National Synchronized Figure Skating Champion in 1998 and then placing third in the international competition in Milan, Italy.

She has also shown an interest in research: during her final college summer, she was a research intern in a biochemistry lab at Arizona State University where she worked with mutated bacterial genes and used laser spectroscopy in a study examining electron transport.   

A very active member of the M.D. Class of 2006, she belongs to the American Medical Student Association, DOC (Doctors Ought to Care) and Physicians for Human Rights.    

Swenson plans to pursue residency training in neurology beginning in July at the University of Minnesota.  The daughter of Jan and Bruce Swenson, M.D., (B.S. Med. ‘72) of Minot earned a bachelor of arts degree, majoring in biochemistry, from Colorado College.

Note: The Legible Script is supported through the Dean’s Academic Fund from the University of South Florida and by individual contributions.

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