"See a little bit of God in everyone you meet."

While reading neuroanatomy in Starbucks on Newbury Street, a man sat next to me asked if I were a medical student.

"Well, I've been in medicine for forty-years," he said.

We started talking about being in medicine and being uncertain: what to do when a patient comes to you and you do not have an answer for him/her, what happens if you start questioning your own commitment to medicine.

Half way through the conversation, I told him, "It scares me that I'll be responsible for someone else' life in 11 months."

He said, "You'll be alright. My father was a rabbi, and he always said that there is a little bit of God in every human being. It's your job to see that in a person. If you'll remember to do this, you'll be a good doctor."