Thank you for letting me be your physician

•Patients choose their physicians.•A physician can only practice medicine, if their patients allow them to fill that role.•Receiving a patient’s trust is an exceptionally meaningful aspect of medical practice. I believe this article emphasizes how emotionally valuable receiving patients' trust is to the practicing physician. It also gives new insight into understanding the emotional loss a physician may experience when leaving private practice, even if they remain active in medicine. Finally, for those entering medicine, it explains the profound personal satisfaction they can experience from long term trusting relationships with patients.