Lucila Torres

I attribute my success to compassion, empathy, patience, and genuinely caring for people. I believe the most important thing is treating patients as individuals rather than simply as appointments or sources of income. That's been the foundation of my success and fulfillment in healthcare. I don't see patients as money, I see them as people. I connect with my patients, I know their families, I know their stories. When you build those relationships and treat people with compassion and understanding, that's what makes the difference. Many of my patients have told me they’re grateful they found a person like me because of the care I provide. That recognition means more to me than anything else, because it shows that treating people with humanity and kindness really matters.

I didn't have formal mentors throughout my career, but I did have a great teacher when I was going to medical school who was amazing and encouraging. Being honest, I did this on my own. I was my own mentor. I came from an abusive relationship, and what I did was just to prove to myself that I was able to do this and more. Life doesn't stop. I woke up every day and said, okay, you could do this. I let nobody stop me. My kids have been my greatest support throughout everything and also my now wonderful husband who is my rock and support. You learn every day, and I continue to learn every day from my doctors and my experiences.

Wake up every morning, look at yourself in the mirror and say, I can do this, I will do it, not only for me, but for the people who are counting on me. That's how you build relationships. That's how you build the person who you're going to become in the future. No matter what path you're going to take in the medical field, compassion is the most important thing that you could build. Be empathetic with all your patients. Listen, we all have stories. We all go through different stages in our life. Be patient. Some patients share the same pain, the same stories, just different versions. Some of us in the field have been through abusive relationships, and we can relate with patients going through similar things. The best that we could do as people who serve the community is just to be more empathetic. Don't treat them as money. They are people. You need to learn to be more patient with adults, especially seniors, because we need to remember, we're heading that way. Respect yourself, love yourselves, so you could give that back to people.

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare, especially in small towns like where I live, is access to opportunities and resources. We live in a very small town and there are not many hospitals around the area. The biggest challenge for a lot of graduates is finding where to work. Not all offices pay the same, and we don't have public transportation here, so people need to rely on somebody for transportation. If a family only has one vehicle and multiple people working, that creates real challenges. Another challenge we face here is the winter weather. We live in the mountains and the roads are very dangerous in wintertime. They don't salt the roads, they just put small pebbles, and that makes it really hard to commute. I live 10 minutes away from my job, but I have to leave my house 30 to 40 minutes before to be on time because of the way the roads are. Despite these challenges, there are tremendous opportunities for healthcare professionals who genuinely care about patients and want to make meaningful differences in people's lives every day.

The values most important to me are compassion, kindness, empathy, patience, family, and service to others. I believe healthcare professionals should approach every patient interaction with understanding and humanity. In my personal life, my family comes first. Right now, it's just me and my husband at home since our kids are grown and live in another state, but my kids have always been my greatest support. I also deeply value caring for others, which extends beyond my work. I love caring for animals and we have 18 dogs on our 4-acre property, along with goats and chickens. I'm passionate about reading, which is one of my favorite hobbies, and I've passed that love of reading on to one of my daughters and my granddaughter. I also love arts and crafts and work on projects in my free time. My personal life and my job are both incredibly important to me, and I try to combine both. The most important things I love doing are connecting with my patients, my family, and caring for others.