Learning From Experience: Patients Are the Best Teachers

One of the first courses I took in medical school was anatomy lab. My school hosted a special event to mark the beginning of the course, providing the opportunity to meet the donor’s family, to hear their story and to give some human dignity to the whole process.

It was during one of those speeches that I first heard the familiar phrase: “The patient is the best teacher.” At the time, I probably didn’t think it was true as the illustrations in the Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy were much easier to follow and comprehend. Though in hindsight, perhaps that is a reflection on the reason I didn’t become a surgeon.

I remember finding this advice shortly after matching into radiology: “Read as many studies as possible.”

On my very first day of chest imaging, I walked in to find someone turned away from me, staring at a cardiac MRI on the screen. Without any introduction or welcome, I heard a voice say, “… One hundred chest X-rays.” I wasn’t even sure he was talking to me. But then he turned around and repeated, “I’m not kidding — I want 100 chest X-rays from you today. Go.”

Now, that was obviously an unattainable goal, but the message stuck. No one enjoys the feeling of making ten mistakes in a day, let alone one hundred. But medicine, like any other discipline, is built on repetition and practice.

I did my best to keep doing what I believed was an honest effort. I wanted to see as much as I could see and make the most of my learning experiences while there were people around me that wanted to make me a better radiologist.

It’s certainly nice to have people around you who want you to grow and succeed. Everyone of course makes mistakes, but isn’t it nicer to land in a foam pit rather than fall without a net from the top of a trapeze?

That said, it’s also important to be mindful that actions are still made based on the interpretations of trainees. We don’t want to be reckless. When the trauma team comes into the reading room at 3am about to roll the patient to the OR, they aren’t going to always find an attending, but they certainly will find a resident.

I can tell you that the feeling at the end of four years feels much better than at the beginning of the second. All your hard work will pay off, but you must invest in yourself.

Seeing cases and learning from direct experience is often better than reading about them in a textbook. I found it much easier to learn something after seeing it in person and discussing the case with an attending than reading about it in a book.

One of my biggest challenges as a senior resident was preparing for the ABR CORE exam. The best strategy is the same one you’ve used since day one: See as many cases as possible and build your knowledge base with practice questions. Additional resources like ACR® RadExam or ACR Case in Point® help emulate board style questions.

The more time you spend at the workstation learning during the day, the fewer long nights you’ll have to spend studying afterward. In the end, it always comes back to this simple truth: Your patients are your best teachers.

I am deeply grateful for to the individuals who went out of their way to shape me into the radiologist I am today. Honest feedback and thoughtful mentorship have been some of the most impactful parts of my training.

As a senior resident and fellow, I’ve felt a responsibility to pass that forward — not only because it’s the right way to treat junior residents, but because teaching also reinforces your own knowledge.

Every time I explain a concept to someone else, I also challenge myself to recall and reflect on what I’ve learned. In the process, I discovered that mentorship is not just a gift you receive — it’s one you’re called to give.

Medicine is a career filled with new beginnings. Each stage brings its own steep learning curve and unique lessons. But with every new beginning, what once felt impossible gradually becomes second nature. And when you take the time to reflect, you realize that the thousands of patients, the mentors and even the mistakes have all shaped you into the physician you were meant to be.

That is both the challenge and the privilege of this profession: To keep beginning again and continue learning from the best teacher you’ll ever have — your patients.