For many years, I have held that the best "pre-medical" training for doctors is a stint at selling used cars on a lot -- you learn to size up people quickly, figure what they have, what they need and what they are willing to believe. Then, depending on your ethical position, you can either sell them what they need or more than they need, and when necessary, give them the bad news that they can't have what they want.
By the same token, the best training for a receptionist or MA is to learn to be a great bartender. Specialized knowledge of medicine can be acquired when the basic skills of people management have been mastered.
Facebook, Yelp and the rest take it to a new level -- I just can't get my mind around the "virtual" world where people don't even look at, let alone touch each other.
