Takeaway
Becoming masterful, in piano or healthcare delivery, requires a lot from the individual and the larger support / educational systems. Deliberate practice with reflection, resilience, comfort with ambiguity, and openness to input from others, are some of the important notes to hit on the path to becoming a maestro.
Lifelong learning in clinical excellence | March 16, 2026 | 1 min read
By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
The novel “Body and Soul” by Frank Conroy is exceptional. It follows the life of a boy, Claude, who turns into a musical prodigy. Claude’s life isn’t easy—he has a difficult beginning that includes poverty and isolation. However, he works incredibly hard on his craft and identifies wonderful mentors. The story is rich with themes and pearls that are relevant to the practice of medicine:
1. Becoming skillful requires deliberate practice and persistent attention to fundamentals.
Claude doesn’t simply play piano—he obsessively works scales, listens deeply, and drills technique. For healthcare professionals, clinical excellence demands the same: continuous refinement of examination skills, diagnostic reasoning, communication, and various techniques (for some—procedural). This requires ongoing commitment to growth—not just going through the motions.
2. Consider ways to integrate technical skill with emotional and interpretive depth.
Claude learns that virtuosity alone isn’t enough; music must express something human. Similarly, clinical excellence isn’t just correct diagnoses and procedures—it’s empathy, listening, shared decision-making, and understanding the patient’s story and context. Only by knowing the patient as a person can we partner with them to achieve their health goals.
3. Navigating complexity and ambiguity is part of the art.
Claude’s chaotic life is full of uncertainty, yet he learns to find structure and meaning through music. Clinicians constantly work in ambiguity—incomplete information, diagnostic uncertainty, and system constraints. Excellence involves tolerance for ambiguity, adaptive thinking, and creating order without rigidity.
4. Sustained excellence requires resilience, self-awareness, and care for oneself.
Claude’s journey shows the costs associated with single-minded devotion but also the importance of relationships, rest, and perspective. Physicians pursuing excellence must guard against burnout by cultivating self-compassion, boundaries, reflective practice, and sources of meaning beyond medicine.
5. Mentors are invaluable.
Claude’s primary mentor, Weisfeld, recognizes his talent and challenges him without crushing his spirit. He both questions and stretches him. Healthcare professionals benefit enormously from mentors who do the same—and from being that kind of mentor to learners: curious, demanding, and humanizing.
This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.