{"id":24896,"date":"2025-08-26T16:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T20:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/weeklyrounds\/?p=24896"},"modified":"2025-08-26T17:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:21:46","slug":"a-physician-chronicles-joy-and-challenges-through-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/weeklyrounds\/2025\/08\/a-physician-chronicles-joy-and-challenges-through-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"A Physician Chronicles Joy and Challenges Through Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The <\/strong><strong>joy of teaching medicine through life\u2019s toughest challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>By <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cooperhealth.org\/doctors\/john-mcgeehan-md\"><strong>John F. McGeehan, MD<\/strong><\/a><strong>, Professor of General Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Originally published on KevinMD.com on August 20, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sepsis, multi-organ failure, near death<br \/>\nI fought back to the work I loved.<br \/>\nLife shifted; teaching\u2019s call opened another door.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nThe student clinic, a rebirth at the bedside,<br \/>\nWatching timid M1s bloom into confident, caring M3s: pure joy.<br \/>\nBeing a doctor, teaching, healing, helping those in need.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nThe pure fun of light bulbs igniting in small groups,<br \/>\nConnecting with so many bright, caring young minds,<br \/>\nKnowing medicine\u2019s future is secure through them.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nAnother major illness: achalasia, infected diverticulum.<br \/>\nThirty pounds lost\u2014major surgery\u2014long recovery. Is it now time?<br \/>\nStudent emails, family\u2019s constant encouragement.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nA mandated medical and cognitive evaluation at my age:<br \/>\nOver four hours. Three on cognition alone!<br \/>\nWhat if I fail? Is this worth it? Yes!<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nA rough day softened by an overly kind evaluation,<br \/>\nA hospital stay, cared for by wonderful former students,<br \/>\nAge\u2019s common aches eased by a card from a past mentee.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nThe unchanging appearance of students lets me pretend I\u2019m not aging,<br \/>\nThis old mind still embracing new knowledge.<br \/>\nStories told, others heard, stories yet to unfold.<br \/>\nNot time yet.<br \/>\nThe chance to share wisdom still brings a smile,<br \/>\nHumanism recognized, filling my heart.<br \/>\nEvery day I consider retiring, but<br \/>\nthe magic of medicine,<br \/>\nthe amazing students,<br \/>\nthe sheer joy of my work<br \/>\nconfirms it is not time yet.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Dr. McGeehan, for sharing your beautiful words!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The joy of teaching medicine through life\u2019s toughest challenges By John F. McGeehan, MD, Professor of General Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Originally published on KevinMD.com on August 20, 2025 Sepsis, multi-organ failure, near death I fought back to the work I loved. Life shifted; teaching\u2019s call opened another door. Not time yet. &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/weeklyrounds\/2025\/08\/a-physician-chronicles-joy-and-challenges-through-poetry\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-mlongshore","4":"post-24896","6":"format-standard","7":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Physician Chronicles Joy and Challenges Through Poetry - Weekly Rounds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Physician Chronicles Joy and Challenges Through Poetry - Weekly Rounds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The joy of teaching medicine through life\u2019s toughest challenges By John F. McGeehan, MD, Professor of General Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Originally published on KevinMD.com on August 20, 2025 Sepsis, multi-organ failure, near death I fought back to the work I loved. Life shifted; teaching\u2019s call opened another door. Not time yet. ... 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