"Transitional AV canal, status post-surgical repair in 2003. Now with residual cleft in the left atrioventricular valve with moderate regurgitation." I read my personal medical chart from a visit I had with my cardiologist last week and began to recall my experiences as a patient. I wish that I could recite exactly how my story was from the beginning, but as a pediatric patient, only bits and pieces of memories come to the surface.

I remember fainting in class, which I now know was my body's way of increasing blood flow to my brain. In fact, I still vividly remember my mom and dad's facial expressions when the pediatric cardiologist showed them the moving images of my echocardiogram and explained that I would need open heart surgery immediately. After surgery, I woke up feeling like I got run over by a truck. I remember blowing into what I now know of as an incentive spirometer to ensure patency of my airways. I consider myself fortunate, not only because I was discharged the day before Christmas, but because I was given a chance to live a longer and healthier life.

Since this experience, I have followed up annually with a cardiologist for a wide range of exams from echocardiograms and EKGs to physical exams. Fast forward almost 20 years, I am now a medical student entering my first year of clinicals. I am faced with conflicting perspectives as I have seen health care through the lens of the patient and through the lens of a medical student.

As a patient, I am more concerned with comfort. I would like to influence the quality of interactions between doctors and patients, as well as compliance, patient education and health outcomes. This can be achieved through a clear line of communication in which the patient feels respected and listened to, especially since I personally find it very helpful when my cardiologist spends a couple more minutes with me and asks me how my life is outside of medicine - this shows that they are invested in me and my well-being.

As a medical student, I am taught pathophysiology, treatment, outcomes, prevention and evidence-based algorithms. I am taught to choose a specialty based on interest, but to keep in mind the challenges of reimbursement and work-life balance which are unique to each specialty. Professors emphasize the importance of empathy towards a patient, yet this is a skill that can only be developed organically through human interaction.

Every year, especially around Christmas time, I am reminded what it is like to be the patient: the feeling of vulnerability sitting on the examination table in a yellow gown waiting for the doctor to arrive and the feeling of uncertainty that life may never be the same again. I will attempt to merge my conflicting perspectives into a perspective of a functioning and caring physician.

When a medical student's life gets busy and patient charts get longer, I will pause and remember what it's like to be the patient.

This article was authored by Tess Calcagno, PharmD, medical student at the University of Miami. Twitter: @CalcagnoTess