[there have been days]

a poem

Photo by Peter Oswald on Unsplash

There have been days / that I feel / nothing has been done / and yet when I share with others / they immediately correct me / to highlight / just how much has been done / by sheer force

I look at their CVs / and gasp / 300 publications / in the span of their career / 20 to 75 / that’s many years / but also a hundred times farther than I am / a hundred times / in the span of forty years / will I catch up? / do I desire to catch up?

There are days when I feel like nothing is done / and then I step out note / what the fuck is the pressure / why do we push people to the edge / for the sake of knowledge / and to think / does this all move our knowledge forward / unfortunately I do not think so

I think of the surgeons who are sleep-deprived / and think about drivers who are prevented from driving when not rested / why do we expect our physicians and medical staff to go so far / I want them rested and fed and happy / I want them rested / I want them fed / I want them happy.

#WritingPrompt: How can we redefine success in academia and medicine to prioritize well-being and fulfillment?

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