"Medical school taught me so many things. Classroom and clinical instruction are priceless and I tried to soak in every bit of information I could. The real education came when I had to learn how to put myself in a patient's shoes while being the physician caring for them. I learned how to listen more than I talk and to communicate what I saw with peers who were on my level academically, as well as with patients who didn't understand medical jargon. I learned that every day is a learning process and it's important to take advantage of every opportunity to sharpen my skills."

Medical school is long and hard. No one doubts that. It is the place where you learn many difficult lessons and life skills to help you become a good physician. When you can work through an experience and take something from it that will help you down the road, that shows true maturity and an ability to glean from instruction.

"I learned so many things in medical school. The most important thing I learned was people skills. It doesn't matter how much knowledge we get from a textbook. It's the application of personal skills and communication that make all of that knowledge useful."