Examination

Examination by Evelyn MD Potochney DO

If I fixate on the monitor, I lose eye contact with

the patient. If I spend too much time with the patient,

I cannot keep pace with the service.

I remember days when I engaged, with the patient,

with the pen on paper, synchronously observing

and jotting.

A methodical act. A kinesis.

Uninterrupted by alerts on a screen.

I long for those days

Of focused attention.

Humane. Fulfilling. Productive. 

Neither digital nor analog–

electrical interactions.

Evelyn M. Potochny, DO, is a physician and former U.S. Navy medical officer living in Pennsylvania. Her work appears in Families, Systems & Health, Hektoen International: A Journal Of Medical Humanities, and Proud to Be: Writing By American Warriors.