Over the many years I’ve spent working in medicine, patients have said lots of things to me.

A few phrases stand out because I have heard versions of them repeated over and over, throughout many years, and in a variety of settings.

Some have now become rarer, others remain consistent. Funnily enough, they all seem to be about age.

The one I miss most is probably the one I liked least while I was still hearing it: “You’re too young to be a doctor!”