Only 'if' And 'if' Only Poem by Noor Othman

The "IF" they praise is Impact Factor,
A journal's score that climbs or shatters.
The higher the number, the more it is prized,
Yet truth and meaning are often disguised.

Does a number prove a true impact? ,
Or is it a game of power, prestige, and tact?
Is it fair to bind with metrics so strict,
And cast aside those who don't fit the script?

Clinicians are drawn for their healing hands,
Some mend the bones, some cure what demands,
Some keep vigil in emergencies' call,
Some in the theatres giving their all.

Yet research demands what their hours deny,
Their strength is in service, not chasing the sky.
Still they are pressed to publish or fall,
While their true vocation is healing us all.

If only the VC could truly see,
What lingers in hearts, what longs to be free.
These weary lecturers bide their time,
Dreaming of fields where life is kind.

And when they depart for gentler shores,
The University will feel the vacant floors!


This poem was written on August 28th,2025, at a time when there was much discussion about lecturers being required to publish only in Q1 and Q2 journals in order to receive support from the University, and upon hearing that many young clinical lecturers were getting ‘burnt out.'