Letter of Gratitude By Quinn Losefsky to Terence McCarthy, M.D.

Dear Dr. McCarthy,

As I have started approaching the half-way mark through my four years of medical school, I have been reflecting on my journey to this point and all the people who have helped me get here. It has been a long road, with many side streets and unexpected detours, and just as many kind and caring people who have help direct me back to the main route. I couldn’t help but think about the positive impact you have made on the way, and I wanted to thank you for that.

The two years I spent as a scribe in the THFW Emergency Department have probably had the most formative effect on my medical career thus far. I was able to learn more about medicine than I thought was possible without formal training, and my experiences there have forever shaped my idea of what it means to be a physician.

Working with you, I feel that I have truly understood what it means to treat everybody with kindness and a gentle, healing touch. I have countless moments catalogued in my memory of your ability to walk into any room and make the patient feel understood and cared for, regardless of their background. I remember one patient in particular who was a “frequent flier”, lived in a group home, and usually brought his baby dolls into the ED with him at least once a week. At this visit, his dolls were missing and you, genuinely concerned, asked him where they were. He told you that somebody at his group home had stolen them from him, and I was honestly surprised how upset you were about this injustice, where most people would have just written it off. I saw him with you multiple times over the two years I was a scribe, and you never treated him differently than any other patient.

I will also never forget about my experience with you as one of my interviewers at TCU and UNTHSC. It was a nice break from the rest of the MMIs since you already knew me, and we just chatted about one of the books you had recommended to me. At the end of this (very casual) interview, you told me that you were obligated to write a note on my score sheet that we knew each other personally and there could be a conflict of interest. “But,” you said very happily, “I’m going to say there is a congruence of interest, since I think you would be a perfect fit for this school.”

Needless to say, I feel that you have made a huge impact on both my personal endeavors in medical school, and my idea of who I want to be as a doctor in the future. I hope that my future patients will see a piece of the physician that you are in me, and I can’t thank you enough for that.

Sincerely,

Quinn Losefsky