One of the most touching moments I have had as a medical student was during my family medicine clinic, when I encountered a patient who had multiple co-morbidities. He was an elderly African American man that was establishing care at our clinic. I went into the room, introduced myself, took his history, and conducted a physical exam. During the history, he began to tell me about life as a teen during the civil rights era. He proceeded to tear up and explain how emotional he was feeling to be in a clinic where he could receive medical treatment from a physician and medical student that look like him. "You know, son, this right here was very, very hard to find back in the day," he stated, with tears of joy. I thanked him for the kind words, and I presented back to my attending. My attending and I walked in, the patient repeats what he told me, and my attending responds with "Absolutely, sir, this is why we're here! This is the future of medicine, and I am so glad you are providing a learning opportunity for my student." In that moment, I observed how the exam room contained three different generations of Black history and culture, and I had the privilege to learn the struggles, the fight, and the accomplishment that came with each generation. As a reflect on this experience, I realize how grateful I am to be a part of that change. To have a patient tell me that my presence alone, even as just a medical student, means so much to him is one of the many reasons I chose medicine as a career.

This article was authored by Charles Anugwom, Jr, a third-year medical student at the Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Twitter: @charles_anugwom