LAUSR

Editor’s Note: 55-word stories were created in 1986 by Steve Moss, the founder of New Times, a weekly news and entertainment publication reporting on events in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since then, the medium (also referred to as “shorties”) has been used for many purposes by different communities. In the medical community, 55-word stories have chiefly been used as a tool for reflection and have been printed in publications including JAMA and Family Medicine, among others. Writing these über-short stories allows authors to distill their narrative down to its fundamental essence, enhancing its power with each progressive edit. 55-word stories are an excellent tool for reflection on challenging topics, and are being incorporated into many health care curricula. As one example Colonel Alyssa McManamon, MD, from the Uniformed Services University, and Captain Moira McGuire, BSN,RN-BC, CSC, from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, collaborated to teach a 3-hour seminar in which third-year medical students used 55-word stories to explore “The Hidden Curriculum” of medical school. Below are four of those 55-word stories, describing an array of experiences by students during their core clerkship year of medical school. I think you will find them both thought provoking and poignant. — Adam K. Saperstein, MD, FAAFP