Congratulations, you finally made it!
You pushed past when you wanted to quit.
White coat in hand, smile on your face,
I’m sorry to tell you that medicine will put you in your place.
Nothing could have prepared you for what is going to come.
Dress up, talk to some patients … sure, it’s all in good fun.
Just you wait and see, soon the real work will kick in.
To be a doctor is what you wanted; you need to see it through thick and thin.
Twenty-two lives gunned down ruthlessly by hate: mourning the dead, Sun City defaced.
Come on, you need to get in there and learn — can’t let a crisis go to waste.
People shattered, destroyed … look at the physician, the patient, the family.
Don’t worry, we’ll talk about some wellness to restore all of your sanity.
A novel strain virus sweeping the entire globe with no plans of stopping.
Medical supplies, health care providers, and signs of hope seem to be dropping.
But you’re essential, a vital part of the healthcare team, you need to graduate on time.
We don’t know what’s going to happen to you but get in there, it’ll all be fine!
The push and pull you feel of needing to do more but not knowing how to.
Seeing how little you actually know despite everything you’ve been through,
Fearing that you didn’t realize what you’ve gotten yourself into.
Medicine will make you realize your place.
It gives you a reason to look forward and brace
Whatever may come because nothing can replace
Becoming someone who will be there
For those who need you most when they’re in despair.
These may not be your battles to combat right now,
But soon your day will come and you’ll know exactly how.
I wish I could have told you, the day you put on that coat,
Some days it’s going to be really hard to stay afloat.
But I can tell you this: despite what’s going on and what you’ll see,
The worst of it all is worth learning how to be the doctor you’re meant to be.
Poetry Thursdays is an initiative that highlights poems by medical students and physicians. If you are interested in contributing or would like to learn more, please contact our editors.
Contributing Writer
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center
Alexia Jauregui is a third-year medical student at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso, Texas class of 2021. In 2016, she graduated from the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley with a Bachelor of Science in biology. After graduating medical school, Alexia is passionate about ultimately serving a border community as a Med-Peds-trained primary care physician.