I'm just about to become one in a few months - despite everything you learn in med school, being faced with an actual patient is so vastly different from just knowing about various conditions and how to manage them.

There's so much to just a single patient - their current issue (presenting complaint), their past medical history, their social situation, amongst many other things - all factors that have to be carefully considered when you want to manage a patient successfully, so that you can discharge them safely from your care in hospital/primary settings. And it's not just about treating them medically/surgically: working with colleagues (nurses, physio, pharmacy etc) to provide a full package of care really makes the difference. Without them, doctors are nothing!

Mr. X with a broken hip and lives alone at home who is also allergic to morphine? You could fix the hip with surgery, but what about giving him painkillers when he's allergic to the gold standard of analgesic drugs? You'd have to give him some other analgesia which may be less effective than morphine at relieving the severe pain you get with a broken hip. What if he'd laid on the floor for hours before anyone found him; occupational therapy couldsort him out with a home alarm of sorts that he can easily activate if he ever were to fall again. Even better, get him the physiotherapy he needs to strengthen his muscles for walking. OT could also help sort his home out to reduce his risk of further falls - grab rails, advice on furniture arrangement, that sort of thing.

And it is truly fantastic to see a poorly patient in hospital turn the corner and finally go home, I just feel so much happiness for them when this happens.