It says a lot about human nature.
Patch is a brilliant person.
He has problems, and at the beginning of the movie has himself committed to a mental institution. It is here that he learns he can forget about his own problems by helping other people with theirs. And help them he does. Although he is older than your average medical student, he decides to go to med school, where he instantly clashes with the dean. The dean mandates strict discipline and talks of a medical profession completely detached from emotion.