Annals of family medicine
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Minutes after starting my family medicine rotation, my first patient crumpled before my eyes. She shared a story of anguish and worry, overwhelmed with the grief of her partner's unexpected death and consequential housing instability. ⋯ It is one thing to read about structural trauma and deeply embedded inequalities; it is another to look into the eyes of the patients whose families are, in part, shaped by them. In this essay, I grapple with a myriad of emotions on my first day of family medicine-and contemplate the courage required to show up, wholeheartedly, for our patients.