As a family physician, I am often asked what my day is like in practice. It is hard to describe an 'ordinary day' in Family Medicine probably because there are no ordinary days. Our days are filled with extraordinary people that live along the continuum between illness and wellness. There is nothing simple or ordinary about that balancing act.

I often think of the day a woman walked into my office wondering if I would be the physician she would choose to work with in the coming years. She was a nurse and knew what she wanted and expected in the patient-physician relationship. She was willing to do her part and wanted only to be appreciated for the partnership she would bring into this relationship. Her questions were straightforward and her demeanor was both friendly and inquiring. I think of that day often because she knew her 'job' as a patient and knew the job she wanted me to do. It was also a beginning of a lasting relationship between two human beings that was centered on her health and her wellness but it also taught me a lot about being a physician while remaining a caring human being. After all, that is what most patients want.

During our many years together as patient and physician, she would bring a sense of humor into the each visit and that made me see the importance of laughter even in the most difficult of circumstances. She also brought a sense of personal responsibility into the patient-physician relationship. Ours was a partnership in which we both approached her illnesses, her preventive health measures and her pursuit of wellness together. We trusted each other and the information we shared. Her concern about muscle weakness led us on an odyssey to discover the cause, which turned out to be a rather uncommon diagnosis that was, at first, ignored by the sub-specialists. When a surgeon told her not to worry about a small lump in her breast, she worried anyway and we talked it over and decided to listen to what her body was trying to tell her. It was breast cancer. Listening to the patient is always a wise thing to do and she taught me that, too. Since then, I have often told patients, "If you listen to your body and I listen to you, we won't go wrong". Medical school can teach you some things but patients always teach you more.

When I meet medical students today, I always look for what is in their heart. Are they going to be open to what patients have to teach them? Will they truly listen to what their patients have to say? Will they collaborate with the patient in a partnership that will transcend the knowledge of both? I call that heart the 'heart of a family physician' because it means their heart is in their work and always looking out for the best interests of the patient. From my point of view, it doesn't get any better than that. Do you seek a life with meaning and purpose? A life fully lived? To me that is a life of service and it is the life of a family physician.