I began making house calls when I was 5 years old. That was when my father started taking me along on his house calls. He was an internist in New York City in the days when doctors still made house calls, carried doctors bags, and sat with patients to comfort them. Together, we answered phone calls from distraught patients, tracked directions to their homes on our printed maps, and drove through lonely streets to find them. Throughout my childhood and until the time I entered medical school, I was my father's apprentice.
