Synapse is the UCSF student newspaper. We seek to serve as a forum for the campus community. Articles and columns represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Board of ...

I am keeping a prisoner; This breath I took two weeks ago; I refuse to let it leave; It paces back and forth within me ...

I became a runner during my clinical rotations of medical school. When my days overflowed with meaning. So much to process, to honor and to grieve. To move through. From holding the hand of a dying ...

This means war, blues versus red. No guns, less germs, But plenty of steel. There will be blood, I fear. Drip, drip, drip, Sweat rolling from my chinny chin chin. Knives out then in, Fluids splashing ...

This submission earned Amber Por third place in the Synapse Storytelling Contest creative writing category. I’m still figuring out the best version of myself; And though it is a journey, it is a ...

The refrain “In a healthy individual like you or me” is one I commonly hear as a medical student from residents and attendings on the wards. Yet the underlying assumption is false — physicians and ...

The only way forward is inward and outward Inward through the alleys of self-doubts and ill interpretation Outward like arms embracing infinity, millions What matters? What brings you joy? What makes ...

White concrete poured poorly, The edges pink and undercooked. All of it sous vide, surfeit with choreography like a stuffed mailbox green grass, dip dyed clouds pinned back with barrettes. Windmills ...

Having detailed, in Part One, major events that led to Haiti’s founding, this section, or Part Two, traces how Haiti has visibly suffered at the hands of foreign powers. In continuing to discuss ...

What are you doing during the COVID-19 isolation order? Our household is busy with homeschooling two school-aged children, along with learning how to become an efficient online learner. Zoom fatigue ...

I am a Mexican-American poet, medical student, and soon-to-be obstetrics & gynecology resident physician at UCSF. I write poetry because it is an integral part of medicine and healing. Poetry has ...

your wide eyes an azure blue glazed with the reflection of my surprise and, the essence of your desperate anticipation, writhing, behind your conjunctival injection. as your head swivels from your ...