A Moment That Has Changed Me As A Surgeon
By David T. Netscher, MD
There have been several moments that have changed me as a surgeon in each of my steps through general surgery, plastic surgery and finally hand surgery. But these can all be encapsulated into one Big Moment and that is mentorship.
In general surgery, my Louisville department chair was Dr. Hiram Polk, who was and still is a strong surgical leader. He demanded the best surgical skills, practicing according to the best evidence (long before evidence-based medicine became a catch-phrase) and helped me create time for surgical research and forge an academic career. Most of all, he recognized in me, a new immigrant, someone he could accept into his training program.
In plastic surgery, my Division Chair, Dr. Melvin Spira, at Baylor continued to instill in me a strong work ethic. I knew that if I needed an answer to either an academic or clinical question, I could find him without fail at 5 AM in his office where he would generously devote his time before the rush of a busy work day began. It was back at Baylor, when I returned as faculty, that I continued to enjoy his unconditional mentorship, having an office immediately adjacent to Dr. Spira’s.
Finally, Dr. Harold Kleinert was the consummate gentleman, always bringing the best out of people, always intellectually curious, and searching and probing for the new frontiers with unparalleled vision. I helped prepare many lectures, completed writing assignments and performed clinical projects for him. As much work as I put into these projects, he returned in spades with mentorship and insight. Yet he was also very busy in the operating room, well known for taking call and catching naps on a hospital stretcher.
All three of these clinician scientists were amazing mentors. They instilled in me a desire for clinical and technical excellence, a love for surgical enquiry and a desire to teach the next generation. Above all, for them, the patient came first, treating patients with dignity and respect. I am reminded of a quote attributed to Osler, I believe, that went something like this – to practice medicine without books is like sailing an uncharted sea, to practice medicine without patients is like not going to sea at all… their mentorship has enabled me to sail a good journey.