Physician Peer Support

Over the phone your words summon me
with your fear, your grief, your anger

Would that my words could fly
over the wires, over the air, over the cloud

to settle beside you
as a friend, as a balm, as a light

to help relieve
your anguished heart

Harise Stein, MD, FACOG, is an adjunct clinical professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford Health Care and is the past director of physician peer support at Stanford Health Care. She also has a private practice in Mountain View, California.

Of this poem, Dr. Stein said: "This poem was written during the middle of the pandemic surges, when so many people felt bruised, alone, isolated, and still enmeshed with our chronic medical culture of being tough and not wanting to ask for help. I wanted to convey that there are people out there who understand, who care, and who are there to listen with compassion."

Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions in the Frontline Voices initiative reflect experiences of individual ACOG members and do not represent official organizational opinions of ACOG.