The heartbreaking and unbearable anguish of a mother in the trauma bay who just lost her child in a horrific accident.
The patient whose diagnosis was an enigma to the primary team and multiple specialists, with complication after complication arising during his four-week hospitalization.
The patient who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer laying in her hospital bed surrounded by her family and friends, clearly loved, with the gentlest disposition and the warmest smile on her face.
And lastly, the first time I witnessed a life being brought into the world.
The emotions I felt with these four experiences is indescribable. I have no doubt this is what the father of modern medicine meant when he said:
“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.” -William Osler
Margaret Liu is a medical student in the Class of 2019 at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She grew up in Arizona and graduated from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. She plans to pursue Internal Medicine.