---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This familiarity with a respected…"
description: "\"This familiarity with a respected physician and my appreciation of his work, or the tragedy I experienced with the long, tormented agony and death of m..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png"
---

#  This familiarity with a respected physician and my…

![“This familiarity with a respected physician and my appreciation of his work, or the tragedy I experienced with the long, tormented agony and death of my mother might have influenced me in wanting to study medicine. It was not the case.” quote by Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png)

> “This familiarity with a respected physician and my appreciation of his work, or the tragedy I experienced with the long, tormented agony and death of my mother might have influenced me in wanting to study medicine. It was not the case.”

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker reflects on personal experiences that could have motivated a medical career, but notes those influences did not determine the path.

**In simple terms:** Personal experiences seemed like possible motivations, yet they didn’t shape the decision.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that motivations can be complex and not always decisive.

Themes

career choice motivation personal history

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

personal reflective

When to use this quote

- choosing a profession
- family health crises
- role models
- career counseling

Key Concepts

identity formation influence self‑determination

Questions to Reflect On

- What hidden factors drive your career choices?
- How do you reconcile expected vs. actual motivations?

A Different Perspective

Motivation may be multifaceted and not always linear.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/)

## Related quotes

> [I began the study of medicine, impelled by a desire for knowledge of facts and of man. The resolution to do disciplined work tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/i-began-the-study-of-medicine-impelled-by-a-desire-for-knowledge-of/)

[Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/)

> [I was not a person who you would find on social media traditionally, but when I was introduced to Instagram, I saw it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-varshavski/i-was-not-a-person-who-you-would-find-on-social-media-traditionally/)

[Mikhail Varshavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-varshavski/)

> [Anyone wishing to study medicine must master the art of massage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/anyone-wishing-to-study-medicine-must-master-the-art-of-massage/)

[Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/)

> [Mom did not want me to have anything to do with playing music. Being from a middle-class Black family in that particular era, everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-alias/mom-did-not-want-me-to-have-anything-to-do-with-playing-music-being/)

[Don Alias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-alias/)

> [“a scholarship somewhere huge, and then a few years from now you’ll get an academic scholarship to the same school and you can study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-jackson-brown/a-scholarship-somewhere-huge-and-then-a-few-years-from-now-you-ll-get/)

Angela Jackson-Brown

> [If you're going to make comments on economy, study economy. If you're gonna make comments on world history, make sure you learn world history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/if-you-re-going-to-make-comments-on-economy-study-economy-if-you-re/)

[Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/)

> [I would have loved to study medicine, but I was lucky to have come into the profession that I loved. I may not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/i-would-have-loved-to-study-medicine-but-i-was-lucky-to-have-come/)

[Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/)

> [Initially I had intended to study medicine, but before going to University I had decided that I would be better suited to a career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sanger/initially-i-had-intended-to-study-medicine-but-before-going-to/)

[Frederick Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sanger/)

> [I didn’t study medicine to watch people die." -Kira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/i-didn-t-study-medicine-to-watch-people-die-kira/)

[Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/)

> [I feel if I wanted to be taken seriously I have to study music the same way someone who wants to be a doctor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vincent-mcmorrow/i-feel-if-i-wanted-to-be-taken-seriously-i-have-to-study-music-the/)

[James Vincent McMorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vincent-mcmorrow/)

> [I've always wanted to be a cardiologist. If I have time I want to study Medicine someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-ambrosio/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-a-cardiologist-if-i-have-time-i-want-to/)

[Alessandra Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-ambrosio/)

> [Although I liked especially physics and mathematics for which I had considerable talent, I decided to study medicine. This profession had for me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renato-dulbecco/although-i-liked-especially-physics-and-mathematics-for-which-i-had/)

[Renato Dulbecco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renato-dulbecco/)

> [As a kid, chess was the first thing I studied in a structured way that helped me gain the discipline to study medicine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-spitz/as-a-kid-chess-was-the-first-thing-i-studied-in-a-structured-way-that/)

[Mark Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-spitz/)

> [“The study of medicine consists on the one hand in storing up in the mind an enormous number of facts, which are simply memorized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/the-study-of-medicine-consists-on-the-one-hand-in-storing-up-in-the/)

[C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/)

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

## More by Albert Claude

> [As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/as-far-as-i-remember-even-younger-than-eight-i-have-always-been/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [But, in the name of the experimental method and out of our poor knowledge, are we really entitled to claim that everything happens by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/but-in-the-name-of-the-experimental-method-and-out-of-our-poor/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [For this equilibrium now in sight, let us trust that mankind, as it has occurred in the greatest periods of its past, will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/for-this-equilibrium-now-in-sight-let-us-trust-that-mankind-as-it-has/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [ Until 1930 or thereabout biologists \[using microscopes\], in the situation of Astronomers and Astrophysicists, were permitted to see the objects of their interest, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/until-1930-or-thereabout-biologists-using-microscopes-in-the/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [It is the cells which create and maintain in us, during the span of our lives, our will to live and survive, to search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/it-is-the-cells-which-create-and-maintain-in-us-during-the-span-of/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [I told him that for a modern scientist, practicing experimental research, the least that could be said, is that we do not know. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/i-told-him-that-for-a-modern-scientist-practicing-experimental/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [Looking back 25 years later, what I may say is that the facts have been far better than the dreams. In the long course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/looking-back-25-years-later-what-i-may-say-is-that-the-facts-have/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [Once Ptolemy and Plato, yesterday Newton, today Einstein, and tomorrow new faiths, new beliefs, and new dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/once-ptolemy-and-plato-yesterday-newton-today-einstein-and-tomorrow/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [No doubt, man will continue to weigh and to measure, watch himself grow, and his Universe around him and with him, according to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/no-doubt-man-will-continue-to-weigh-and-to-measure-watch-himself-grow/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [The cell, over the billions of years of her life, has covered the earth many times with her substance, found ways to control herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/the-cell-over-the-billions-of-years-of-her-life-has-covered-the-earth/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [When I went to the University, the medical school was the only place where one could hope to find the means to study life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/when-i-went-to-the-university-the-medical-school-was-the-only-place/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [Life, this anti-entropy, ceaselessly reloaded with energy, is a climbing force, toward order amidst chaos, toward light, among the darkness of the indefinite, toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/life-this-anti-entropy-ceaselessly-reloaded-with-energy-is-a-climbing/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [Man, like other organisms, is so perfectly coordinated that he may easily forget, whether awake or asleep, that he is a colony of cells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/man-like-other-organisms-is-so-perfectly-coordinated-that-he-may/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [If we examine the accomplishments of man in his most advanced endeavors, in theory and in practice, we find that the cell has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/if-we-examine-the-accomplishments-of-man-in-his-most-advanced/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

> [We know the laws of trial and error, of large numbers and probabilities. We know that these laws are part of the mathematical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/we-know-the-laws-of-trial-and-error-of-large-numbers-and/)

[Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

[Explore all 24 Albert Claude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/)

## More Agony quotes

> [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/)

[Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/)

> [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/)

[Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/)

> [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/)

[John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/)

> [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/)

[Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/)

> [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/)

[Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/)

> [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/)

[Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/)

> [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

[Browse all 813 Agony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "This familiarity with a respected physician and my appreciation of his work, or the tragedy I experienced with the long, tormented agony and death of my mother might have influenced me in wanting to study medicine. It was not the case.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Albert Claude"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physician-and-my-appreciation-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Agony"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physician-and-my-appreciation-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/albert-claude-24776_agony_this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physic_177923.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This familiarity with a respected physician and my appreciation of his work, or the tragedy I experienced…” — Albert Claude",
                "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": "Albert Claude",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "This familiarity with a respected physician...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physician-and-my-appreciation-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/this-familiarity-with-a-respected-physician-and-my-appreciation-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
