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Published creative work

Links to several of published creative pieces which appeared in medical journals, in literary magazines, and on creative websites. 

Creative Nonfiction

JAMA - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

JAMA December, 2024 -332(23): 1997-1998

A reflection on aging, insight, and honesty, experienced both as a caregiver and as a patient. 

Doximity - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity September 19, 2022 - Online content

A cancer patient shows up for an appointment wearing a shirt she earned by smoking cigarettes.​

Doximity - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity August 8, 2022 - Online content

Should patients choose a rookie or a seasoned surgeon?​

Doximity - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity July 14, 2022 - Online content

I watched many colleagues retire. Sometimes it goes better than others. Why is that?​

Doximity - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity March 8, 2022 - Online content

Two long-term patients died, leaving me feeling hollow because I knew so little about their lives.​

Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity December 21, 2021 - Online content

How I almost failed to discern my dream specialty and how I now help students find theirs. ​

Doximity - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Doximity September 30, 2021 - Online content

Contemplating the end of a surgical career.​

Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery February 2019 - Vol 145, Number 2 107-08

Mourning the loss of an institution that fostered collegiality and confidence for young physicians. 

Determination - JAMA - Campbell

JAMA May 16, 2017 - Vol 317, Number 19 1953-54

A story about a patient who struggles against the insurance company and prevails.​

Pulse - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Pulse: Voices From the Heart of Medicine June 2, 2017 - Online content

A story about a mysterious encounter that brought comfort to a grieving sister. The story also appears in the book. 

Wisconsin Writers Association - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Creative Wisconsin 2014

This essay about the the process of becoming a physician won the 2014 Jade Ring Contest for Nonfiction for the Wisconsin Writers Association.

The Code - JAMA - Campbell

JAMA, April 9, 2009 - Vol 301, No. 14 1415-16

A story about a night when death, memory, and gratitude converged in one place.​

The Sentinel - JCO - Campbell

Journal of Clinical Oncology, April 1, 2008 - Vol 26, No. 10 1760-61

A story about a moment when a rapidly growing cancer left me speechless. ​

Listening to Leviticus - Campbell - JAMA

JAMA, February 27, 2008 - Vol 299, No. 8 879-80

A patient encounter that was all about faith, ambiguity, and equanimity.​

The Book - JAMA - Campbell

JAMA October 10, 2007 - Vol 298, No. 14 1613-14

A patient taught me a lesson about gratitude. 

Fiction

Creative Wisconsin Magazine, Spring 2025 - pp. 38-40

Creative Wisconsin - Bruce Campbell MD FACS

A high school sophomore struggles to complete an assignment that could save the planet. This might--or might not--contain some elements of my own life. 

Intima - Campbell

Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine Spring 2024 - Online Only

An older surgeon thinks about his career as it is drawing to a close. View it on the Intima website here. â€‹

Examined Life Journal - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

The Examined Life Journal Volume 11 - 2024

A surgeon makes his way uneasily into retirement. â€‹

Creative Wisconsin - Bruce Campbell MD FACS

Creative Wisconsin Anthology: 2021 Jade Ring and Student Writing Contest Winners (Wisconsin Writers Association)

This short story was awarded an Honorable Mention for fiction in the 2021 Jade Ring Contest of the Wisconsin Writers Association 

Creative Wisconsin - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Creative Wisconsin Anthology 2018 

This short story was written to be part of a novel someday. It was awarded an Honorable Mention for fiction in the 2018 Jade Ring Contest of the Wisconsin Writers Association.

Examined Life Journal - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

The Examined Life Journal Vol 3 No 1 Fall 2013

A mother hears terrible news. This short story was written to be part of a novel.

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 2013 3(2):E5-E6 Published online. 

Examined Life Journal - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

The Examined Life Journal Vol 1 No 3 Spring 2012

Two sports announcers provide play-by-play and color commentary in the operating room. Green Bay Packers fans might recognize a nod to the radio team of Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren. This story appears in the book.​

Poetry

Auscult - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Auscult: The Literary and Arts Journal of the Medical College of Wisconsin 2021.

Finding similarities between two different professions. ​

Creative Wisconsin - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Creative Wisconsin October 2016

Written as we were contemplating an extensive remodel of the family cabin in Conover, WI.​

Academic Psychiatry - Bruce Campbell MD FACS author

Academic Psychiatry Sept Oct 2009

The journal editor put out a call for 55-word essays. This story arose from a hallway conversation. 

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