The image shows a doctor in a white coat crouching down in tears, holding onto a wall for support.
It was taken by a paramedic at a California hospital.
He shared the image on reddit, writing: "The man pictured was unable to save one of his patients.”
They continued: “Though this is a common occurrence in our field of work, the patients we lose are typically old, sick, or some combination of the two.
"The patient that died was 19 years old, and for him, it was one of those calls we get sometimes that just hits you.
"Within a few minutes, the doctor stepped back inside, holding his head high again."
One reddit user was particularly touched by the image, writing: “Wow, this really hits home for me. I lost my father earlier last year from an aortic dissection. He started feeling a weird pain in his chest and within an hour he was dead.
“He was a perfectly healthy 49 year old man. The doctors kept reassuring us that he would be fine. When he died the doctors who were working on him at the UCSD medical centre were crushed.
“I could definitely see it in their eyes. They called my house multiple times throughout the year to see how my family was doing. Doctors do not get the praise they deserve.”