--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we learn from medicine everywhere…" description: "\"I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science but also a limitless curiosity and interes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png" --- # I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at… ![“I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science but also a limitless curiosity and interest in your fellow human being, and that the physician-patient relationship is key; all else follows from it.” quote by Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png) > “I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science but also a limitless curiosity and interest in your fellow human being, and that the physician-patient relationship is key; all else follows from it.” [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Medicine is fundamentally a human practice that blends science with compassion and curiosity toward patients. **In simple terms:** Medicine needs science and compassion. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy in practice. Themes medicine humanity compassion Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - clinical work - medical education - research settings Key Concepts patient care curiosity ethical practice Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain curiosity amid routine? - What practices nurture empathy with patients? A Different Perspective Balancing science and empathy can be challenging under pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Endeavor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavor/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Limitless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitless/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [When Death lurks at the door, the physician is considered as a God. When danger has been overcome, the physician is looked upon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-goltzius/when-death-lurks-at-the-door-the-physician-is-considered-as-a-god/) Hendrik Goltzius > [By keeping my hand in that, it's the way I keep learning. The main way you learn in medicine is by practicing and working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/by-keeping-my-hand-in-that-it-s-the-way-i-keep-learning-the-main-way/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God help me, I do love it so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/compared-to-war-all-other-forms-of-human-endeavor-shrink-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My theory is 98 percent of all human endeavor is killing time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/my-theory-is-98-percent-of-all-human-endeavor-is-killing-time/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [Space is not an enterprise that belongs to the U.S. or to Russia or to China - it is a human endeavor and experience.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-carpenter/space-is-not-an-enterprise-that-belongs-to-the-u-s-or-to-russia-or-to/) [Scott Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-carpenter/) > [However gemlike mathematical truths may be, research is but a human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-david-burton/however-gemlike-mathematical-truths-may-be-research-is-but-a-human/) [H. David Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-david-burton/) > [Wishing and dreaming are the beginning of all human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-sher/wishing-and-dreaming-are-the-beginning-of-all-human-endeavor/) [Barbara Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-sher/) > [The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-most-important-human-endeavor-is-the-striving-for-morality-in-our-2/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Sometimes I feel that I am a natural born genius in a field of human endeavor that hasn't been invented yet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/sometimes-i-feel-that-i-am-a-natural-born-genius-in-a-field-of-human/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-important-human-endeavor-is-the-striving-for-morality-in-our/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [No effort is complete without prayer - without definite recognition that the best human endeavor is of no effect if it has not God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-effort-is-complete-without-prayer-without-definite-recognition/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-all-crime-is-only-a-left-handed-form-of-human-endeavor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I suppose the doctor-patient relationship has that idea of transference. I think it's a special thing that doctors have. We all find doctors sexy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fassbender/i-suppose-the-doctor-patient-relationship-has-that-idea-of/) [Michael Fassbender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fassbender/) > [I think people are by-and-large happy with the providers that they have got now. They treasure that doctor-patient relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mcdonnell/i-think-people-are-by-and-large-happy-with-the-providers-that-they/) [Bob McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mcdonnell/) > [It is fundamental when you are a doctor for a good doctor-patient relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manushi-chhillar/it-is-fundamental-when-you-are-a-doctor-for-a-good-doctor-patient/) [Manushi Chhillar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manushi-chhillar/) ## More by Abraham Verghese > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [I love to read poetry but I haven't written anything that I'm willing to show anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-love-to-read-poetry-but-i-haven-t-written-anything-that-i-m-willing/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/we-come-unbidden-into-this-life-and-if-we-are-lucky-we-find-a-purpose/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [I think America is really in denial about the degree to which residents, particularly foreign medical graduates, man the county hospitals of this country,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-america-is-really-in-denial-about-the-degree-to-which/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“Do they listen?" He held up a finger. "Every year one does," he said, ginning, "But that one makes it worthwhile. Even Jesus only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/do-they-listen-he-held-up-a-finger-every-year-one-does-he-said/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“It seems we humans never learn. And so we relearn the lesson every generation and then want to write epistles. We proselytize to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/it-seems-we-humans-never-learn-and-so-we-relearn-the-lesson-every/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [It was all I had, all I've ever had, the only currency, the only proof that I was alive. Memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/it-was-all-i-had-all-i-ve-ever-had-the-only-currency-the-only-proof/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“There it was, Hema must have thought; it was both the sorry and the thank-you that was so long overdue, and the funny thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/there-it-was-hema-must-have-thought-it-was-both-the-sorry-and-the/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“This is my life, I thought, as my taxi slogged through heavy traffic and inched through the tunnel to Logan Airport. I have excised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/this-is-my-life-i-thought-as-my-taxi-slogged-through-heavy-traffic/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“I could see that the almost mystical aura of this legendary surgeon -- the single-mindedness, the dedication, the skill -- was mere surface. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-could-see-that-the-almost-mystical-aura-of-this-legendary-surgeon/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“As a child I'd longed for Thomas Stone or at least the idea of him. So many mornings I waited for him at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/as-a-child-i-d-longed-for-thomas-stone-or-at-least-the-idea-of-him-so/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“The reader, knowing nothing about the ‘dark continent,’ filled in the blanks. Pictured Stone in a tent, kerosene lamp held up by a Hottentot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/the-reader-knowing-nothing-about-the-dark-continent-filled-in-the/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“This was what growing up was about: hide the corpse, don't bare your heart, do make assumptions about the motives of others. They're certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/this-was-what-growing-up-was-about-hide-the-corpse-don-t-bare-your/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“And as for my father? No, he wouldn't ever walk through those gates; I now knew that. Whatever Thomas Stone had, wherever he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/and-as-for-my-father-no-he-wouldn-t-ever-walk-through-those-gates-i/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“... telling herself stories about herself in a singsong voice, creating her own mythology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/telling-herself-stories-about-herself-in-a-singsong-voice-creating/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) [Explore all 230 Abraham Verghese quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) ## More Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) Unknow > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) Robyn Irving [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science but also a limitless curiosity and interest in your fellow human being, and that the physician-patient relationship is key; all else follows from it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Verghese" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywhere-that-it-is-at-its-heart-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Curiosity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywhere-that-it-is-at-its-heart-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/abraham-verghese-1533_curiosity_i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywher_1628371.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science…” — Abraham Verghese", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Verghese", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think we learn from medicine...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywhere-that-it-is-at-its-heart-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-think-we-learn-from-medicine-everywhere-that-it-is-at-its-heart-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```