Facing Mortality as a Physician

You can never become indifferent

You can never become immune

When your patient despite your efforts loses their life

It affects you profoundly, it cuts like a knife

You retrace your steps, you wonder if there was something you could have done

That you did not do, something that would have changed the outcome

You mourn the loss, you feel defeated

Your reserve of stoicism has been depleted..

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Death is an integral part of practicing medicine

Each death feels like a loss, each life saved a win

But death keeps us grounded, while saving lives

Gives us the motivation to try our best, sustains our drive

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The finality of death makes it a bitter pill to swallow

But in despair I cannot continue to wallow

I reflect in gratitude on the time I had spent

In caring for my very sick patient

I achieve closure and am able to continue

To care for my other patients too