Bunnarin Theng grew up in Phnom Penh, a capital city of Cambodia, before moving to the U.S. in 2015. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, majoring in biology and currently a second-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston–John Sealy School of Medicine. Since the beginning of medical school, he has been actively involved in the UTMB Osler Asclepios Student Society as a coordinator and completed Humanities in Medicine Lecture Series. He has also been actively volunteering at the St. Vincent’s Student-Run Clinic, serving the underserved population within the community and is currently a Junior Director for the clinic. He states that this poem captures the essence of Sir William Osler’s wisdom and his approach to medicine, weaving together different principles that Osler advocated and portraying a holistic understanding of humanism in medicine.
Bunnarin's inspirational poem was awarded the UTMB Osler Student Society Medallion Award.
Healing Grace
Where science blends with the soul's grace,
Humanities in medicine find their place,
"The good physician," Osler proclaimed with might,
Treats not just disease but the patient's plight.
Skepticism, a virtue to embrace,
Admitting errors with a humble face,
For in doubt, we seek truth's revealing light,
And progress blooms when wrong turns to right.
"The masses," he said, "should learn to refrain,
From medicine's grasp, let knowledge reign,
Prevention and wisdom, a powerful plea,
To keep ailments at bay, set humanity free.
With fingers keen and diagnostic skill,
The healer seeks clues, a purposeful thrill,
But dogmatism blinds, ignorance's plight,
A humble heart wins the wisdom's fight.
In love, he quipped, a freckled heart's delight,
Choose not the shallow, but the soul shining bright,
And while truth's vastness we can't embrace,
Partial glimpses guide us with grace.
The patient, not the disease, takes center stage,
Understanding lives beyond symptoms' cage,
Immerse in the calling, passion's sweet lure,
Success is found when the heart is pure.
Books and patients, twin compasses true,
To navigate the medical journey's view,
In uncertainty's realm, probability's art,
Medicine's fusion of science and heart.
In silence, sometimes, wisdom's seed is sown,
Confessing ignorance, we've truly grown,
A sense of superiority to dispel,
Compassion's balm makes humanity swell.
Credit to those whose ideas sway the crowd,
Persuasion's art makes knowledge unbound,
Yet a fool he becomes, a physician in pain,
When treating himself, a futile campaign.
Acceptance, the virtue to cultivate,
Embrace each day, with work's grace elate,
The morrow thrives when today's deeds excel,
In present embrace, let ambition dwell.
In toil and silence, complaints to quell,
Absorb the smoke, let frustration dispel,
With hard work's draft, the air clears anew,
And dust of grievances will bid adieu.
So, let us endeavor to do our best,
In every task, let excellence invest,
For the art of humanities, with science's swell,
Shall heal not just bodies but the soul as well.