About Us
"I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest".
John Keats, 1818
The name for our newsletter was inspired by John Keats (1795-1821), a surgeon and English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, joining the leagues of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley. Keats came from a middle-class background and struggled all throughout his life to make a name for himself and pursue his passions. After years of studying and working to be a surgeon, Keats discovered his other talent—writing poetry. By the end of the century, he was placed in the canon of English literature, strongly influencing many writers. Keats never relinquished the resilience to fulfill passions in both medicine and writing and continued to do so until his untimely death at the age of 25 from tuberculosis.
That intellectual passion was felt in his poetry, and I think such a passion is the very thing that should be remembered and idealized in future surgeons. The drive to discover more and dig deep at the difficult questions is what we should all as future surgeons strive to emulate.
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John Keats' memory has lead our team to aim at providing easy access to surgical knowledge, but also create a community of medical students and residents interested in surgery. Glad to have you on board and enjoy!
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--Nour Y. Atassi
Editor-in-Chief