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David Ruckle was born into a family of physicians: his dad, his mom, five uncles, and three aunts are all medical professionals. Needless to say, it was a path he found to be a natural one when he enrolled at PUC as a pre-med student. He chose business as his major.

鈥淏usiness taught me how to manage a team and my time, helped me improve my collaboration skills, and gave me the tools to successfully handle my personal and business finances,鈥� he says.

Ruckle recalls one experience stemming from a group project in a class taught by former business professor John Nunes. When Ruckle approached Nunes with frustrations about the project, Nunes talked him through the situation.

鈥淗e coached me through how to work better with other people, and how to motivate a group,鈥� says Ruckle. 鈥淗e helped me find ways to inspire success and to encourage others to be contributing members of a team. This was helpful because medicine is a very team-based career, with several people all working from their specific areas to achieve the best patient care you can get. I won鈥檛 forget the lessons Nunes taught me.鈥�

After graduating from PUC in 2015, Ruckle went on to Loma Linda University. While there, he served as co-director of LLU鈥檚 Special Ops Program, an outreach to a local elementary school. Together with the other Special Ops team members, Ruckle coordinated weekly presentations and lessons for the students, including crafts, career opportunities, engineering, sports, and more.

鈥淚t was a super special time for all of us,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚t got us away from our everyday routines and the studying, and got us out seeing and connecting with our community.鈥�

Ruckle also made it a point to connect with people inside the hospital. During his third year on medicine rotation, he was sent to the emergency department to see a man experiencing shortness of breath. The man came out of the experience diagnosed with two very rare cancers, both advanced to stage 4.

鈥淗is life was turned upside-down in one unexpected day,鈥� Ruckle says sadly.

The day before the man left to go to an extended care facility, Ruckle found himself with some extra time after rounds, so he went to the patient鈥檚 room and sat with him. They watched football and the man shared favorite memories from his younger years.

鈥淚鈥檓 so glad I made extra time for that man,鈥� Ruckle says. 鈥淗e helped me realize it is so important to not only treat the patients I see, but to know them and really understand that they鈥檙e people just like me. It seems straight-forward, but it can be easy to forget that truth in my line of work. Medical providers tend to distance themselves, as they engage with pain and suffering day in and day out. This man taught me to remain empathetic and always get to know the patient. Everyone has a story.鈥�

While at LLU, Ruckle set an academic record for achieving honors in every course and clerkship, and being inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society his junior year鈥攕omething typically granted to students in their senior year. During his senior year he served as president of the society.

Additionally, Ruckle鈥檚 scores on both the United States Medical Licensing (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 exams placed him at the top of his class and in the 99th percentile nationally. Actively engaged in research at LLU, Ruckle co-authored eight manuscripts, all of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals. His academic success earned him the 2019 President鈥檚 Award from the School of Medicine.

鈥淎t PUC I definitely grew to become someone who could see things from different angles than I did before,鈥� Ruckle says. 鈥淧UC opened my eyes to not being as set in my ways and stuck in one type of thinking, and being open to new ideas. That experience will continue to serve me well in my career.鈥�