As physicians, we are trained to balance truth with compassion, and science with empathy. It’s a delicate balance and an uncertain path. Medicine requires both strength and vulnerability because navigating this balance can leave ambiguity as to whether the healer’s words heal as much as intended. These moments also reveal the tension between knowledge, ethics, and emotion, a struggle between the imperative to speak to fact and the human need to comfort. The courage and resilience those moments demand from both patients and physicians reflect the shared humanity that lies at the heart of healing.

This poem captures the unseen struggle of listening, learning, and connecting even when clarity meets resistance.

No good deed
Goes unpunished.
Truth is a kindness,
Not always a cure in need.
Indeed, I see,
Is this compassion fatigue?

A will to be heard,
Met with care;
But if I dissent,
It might seem unfair.
Shall I speak? Do I dare,
Amidst this snare?

Agreement now the medicine sought;
To listen, is it for naught?
For from these lips
Science shall tumble;
It lands as a fumble,
Thus, an end with a mumble.

The bond is shaken,
A rapport forsaken.
Then, another cost:
A wound for a wound, tossed;
Now, together,
At a loss.

A habit to persist,
Now known as grit,
Fueled by empathy
And its solace;
The awe of impact,
Keeping its promise.

Yet healers too brave scars,
Each a mar;
With the height
Of the bar,
Telling the story
Of a quiet will

To keep listening still.

Ashwini Nadkarni is a psychiatrist.