Abstract
As doctors, we often remember our first patient death; that particular moment when we realised that patients under our care can die. Those painful formative interactions with a dying patient are often etched in our memories. This issue of the Journal will publish two essays by Auckland University medical students, Rebecca Gandhi and Thomas Swinburn, about their first experiences of dying patients. These essays were submitted to the biannual writing competition of the Balint Society of Australia and New Zealand (BSANZ). In 2021, there were 45 entries by students from a wide range of medical schools.