I am 67 years of age. As you age, you will get poked, prodded and punctured by doctors. 2020 was my year for the experience. While taxing, I learned about what the medical profession can teach lawyers. Here are six lessons.

MD Lesson No. 1: The doctor may have performed 1,000 operations, but this could be the first for the patient.

Before going into my surgeries, most of my doctors never made me feel rushed nor tried to minimize what I was about to go through. Yes, the doctor had done easily a 1,000-plus of these procedures (I estimated—while on my back before going under—from some rough numbers that a nurse gave me and the doctor’s years of practice). A doctor can tell a patient “Don’t worry. I have done this procedure a lot of times.” But tone is everything, isn’t it? These words can be a message of reassurance or a message of condescension. The best doctors make it the first.