Social poetics as processual engagement: Making visible what matters in social suffering

Social and cultural poetics take us beyond language to an embodied sensibility. To explore the relevance of social poetics in medical training, this article uses as an exemplar an innovative program in geriatrics in a residency program in primary care. The program began with a series of meetings in which medical residents consulted community elders invited for their advice and wisdom on healthcare dilemmas as Senior Faculty, effectively becoming co-teachers and co-learners with one another. Through iterative reflection, residents, faculty and community elders all reported feeling struck by the unexpected responses and were often guided and called to action by them to ask new questions, to shift their stance, or offer greater accompaniment and care. These experiences illuminated what might otherwise have passed by unnoticed, particularly in regards to human suffering. The reflecting process made visible what mattered to each actor, shifting from negative assumptions and attitudes about older adults to a positive engagement with them, co-creating new possibilities for participants to articulate their lived experience of illness and healing. These are creative and moral acts, honoring the voices of those seldom invited to speak, resonating with them, acknowledging what matters to each participant, while taking into account wider issues of disparity and social justice.