title: Preserving the soul of medicine and physicians: a talk with David Whyte. Interview by Richard L. Reece.
abstract: Richard L. Reece, MD, interviewed David Whyte, a poet, consultant, and author of The Heart Aroused, on December 15, 1999, to discuss preserving the soul of physicians in corporate America. David describes the soul as "a measure of our belonging in the world. When there is little sense of belonging, there is very little sense of soul." In the workplace, he thinks about whether "people have a sense of belonging to the particular work or the organization." He talks about life in the upper world of the workplace and life in the dark subterranean caves where the soul lives. The soul is where people's true creativity and imagination resides ... and by inviting it into the workplace, organizations and employees can become more successful, innovative, and adaptable. In corporate settings, he uses poetry to bring an understanding of the process of change, helping clients to understand individual and organizational creativity to transform the workplace. The poetry can teach and touch those places that the corporate language cannot speak to.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whyte
mesh_terms: D003253:Consultants; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006808:Humanism; D006801:Humans; D019365:Metaphor; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011037:Poetry as Topic; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D014481:United States