Anonymous
I once believed
what mattered most
was the knowledge I’d secured—
not the pleasantries of weather,
nor the gentle “How are you?”
I clung to decisions
etched in stone,
a great tree fed by facts
and logic alone,
its roots crowding out
the soil of empathy.
Then, without warning,
my white coat slipped away.
I found myself as patient,
small beneath the very tree
I had nurtured with data.
Its fruit tasted cold,
leaving me hungry
for a warmth numbers can’t provide.
In that moment, I learned:
beyond the crisp calculations,
beyond perfect timetables,
there is a calling deeper
than predictive ability.
It is the call to connect—
to see a person, not a task,
to hold a hand,
and offer more than skill alone.
Yes, the world demands speed,
and accuracy tightens its grip.
Yet as the branches of knowledge stretch,
so must our care for the human heart.
So let us be both—
effective and empathetic,
rooted in competence
and blossoming with compassion.
In every patient’s eyes,
may we reflect
the dignity of being seen,
the kindness of being heard.
May your practice
grow from intellectual strength
and bloom with gentle empathy.
Med Intima 