Ultimately, whether it is through language, a shared interest, or another shared commonality, finding ways to connect with our patients is an invaluable skill that can transform medicine from a science into an art.

Avani M. Kolla, a fourth-year medical student at New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York, New York, reflects on how language can act as a stepping stone to forming relationships between patients and providers.

The essay read in this episode was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the February 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.