Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
  • About KevinMD | Kevin Pho, MD
  • Be heard on social media’s leading physician voice
  • Contact Kevin
  • Discounted enhanced author page
  • DMCA Policy
  • Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices
  • Group vs. individual disability insurance for doctors: pros and cons
  • KevinMD influencer opportunities
  • Opinion and commentary by KevinMD
  • Physician burnout speakers to keynote your conference
  • Physician Coaching by KevinMD
  • Physician keynote speaker: Kevin Pho, MD
  • Physician Speaking by KevinMD: a boutique speakers bureau
  • Primary care physician in Nashua, NH | Doctor accepting new patients
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recommended services by KevinMD
  • Terms of Use Agreement
  • Thank you for subscribing to KevinMD
  • Thank you for upgrading to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • The biggest mistake doctors make when purchasing disability insurance
  • The doctor’s guide to disability insurance: short-term vs. long-term
  • The KevinMD ToolKit
  • Upgrade to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • Why own-occupation disability insurance is a must for doctors

Medicine is not a business: a poem

Drea Burbank, MD
Physician
October 30, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

Medicine is not a business
You fools.

Healing is your blueprint, activated
to complete itself.

A doctor does not broker it,
The best anyone can do is align you
With what you should be,
And stay out of the way.

(Like a teenager setting off an illegal firecracker.)

Mostly, you pay the doctor for the alignment,
And the nurse
To keep the doctor out of the way.

If you’re not ready,
to get on with the business of what you should be,
You come back later.
Or, maybe, next lifetime.

It’s not complicated.
And it’s not a business.
You fools.

The doctor knows what you should be,
when they know what they are,

And if they don’t
And the nurse can’t tell them,
You come back later,
Or, maybe, next lifetime.

It’s simple, but
It’s not easy,
And it’s not a business you fools.

I’ve seen it, GNP and recurring revenue and prayers so many pairs of high-intervention end-of-life care.

It’s cosmic law
That you cannot profit from someone else’s suffering.
You only appear to,
When you do not know what you are.
When you are blind
to the part of yourself that suffers with them.

Which is why medicine is not a business
it’s a relief,
A chance to make yourself right,
Whole.

When you are whole, you come back later if you want or next lifetime,
To heal.

Drea Burbank is a physician-entrepreneur.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Type 1 diabetes is no fun

October 30, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

Formalized mentorship as a requirement for medical schools

October 30, 2021 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

< Previous Post
Type 1 diabetes is no fun
Next Post >
Formalized mentorship as a requirement for medical schools

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Drea Burbank, MD

  • How doctors can regain control of their software

    Drea Burbank, MD
  • How doctors should organize

    Drea Burbank, MD
  • How physicians are mishandling technology

    Drea Burbank, MD

Related Posts

  • What medicine can learn from a poem

    Thomas L. Amburn
  • Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine

    Martinus Megalla
  • Medicine: noble profession or big business?

    David A. Guss, MD
  • How Big Medicine is hurting patients and putting small practices out of business

    John Machata, MD
  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • Why academic medicine needs to value physician contributions to online platforms

    Ariela L. Marshall, MD

More in Physician

  • AI in pain assessment: Balancing innovation with patient safety

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • The hidden cost of uncompensated work on physician burnout

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Physician burnout solutions: Why system change isn’t enough

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

    Brian Hudes, MD
  • Systemic failure in professional environments: the myth of protection

    Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The Blanket Sign: Recognizing difficult patient encounters in the ER

    George Issa, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Physician burnout and gaming: Why doctors turn to video games

      Gerald Kuo | Tech
    • American health care policy reform: Why we need a bipartisan commission

      Steve Cohen, JD | Policy
    • Physician tax strategies: Why your tax bill is so high and how to fix it

      Logan Foltz, MD | Finance
    • Physician vulnerability and authenticity: How shared stories heal [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in clinical documentation: Who is liable for medical errors?

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Missed diagnosis visceral leishmaniasis: a tragedy of note bloat

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Conditions
    • From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

      Ivy Oandasan, MD | Policy
    • The American Board of Internal Medicine maintenance of certification lawsuit: What physicians need to know

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Sabbaticals provide a critical lifeline for sustainable medical careers [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why Medicare must cover atrial fibrillation screening to prevent strokes

      Radhesh K. Gupta | Conditions
    • Teaching joy transforms the future of medical practice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Recent Posts

    • Physician vulnerability and authenticity: How shared stories heal [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in pain assessment: Balancing innovation with patient safety

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What HCPs across the country are saying about policy and emerging research and why your voice matters

      InCrowd | Sponsored
    • Winter in Islamabad: Finding hope in the daily struggle

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of uncompensated work on physician burnout

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Physician burnout solutions: Why system change isn’t enough

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How board certification fuels the physician shortage crisis

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Physician burnout and gaming: Why doctors turn to video games

      Gerald Kuo | Tech
    • American health care policy reform: Why we need a bipartisan commission

      Steve Cohen, JD | Policy
    • Physician tax strategies: Why your tax bill is so high and how to fix it

      Logan Foltz, MD | Finance
    • Physician vulnerability and authenticity: How shared stories heal [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in clinical documentation: Who is liable for medical errors?

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Missed diagnosis visceral leishmaniasis: a tragedy of note bloat

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Conditions
    • From Singapore to Canada: a blueprint for primary care transformation

      Ivy Oandasan, MD | Policy
    • The American Board of Internal Medicine maintenance of certification lawsuit: What physicians need to know

      Brian Hudes, MD | Physician
    • Sabbaticals provide a critical lifeline for sustainable medical careers [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why Medicare must cover atrial fibrillation screening to prevent strokes

      Radhesh K. Gupta | Conditions
    • Teaching joy transforms the future of medical practice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Recent Posts

    • Physician vulnerability and authenticity: How shared stories heal [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • AI in pain assessment: Balancing innovation with patient safety

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • What HCPs across the country are saying about policy and emerging research and why your voice matters

      InCrowd | Sponsored
    • Winter in Islamabad: Finding hope in the daily struggle

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Conditions
    • The hidden cost of uncompensated work on physician burnout

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Physician burnout solutions: Why system change isn’t enough

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today

Copyright © 2026 KevinMD.com | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme

  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...