By Lisa Kruse, MD

We spend at least 10 years, 3,650 days, or 41,600 hours (assuming an 80-hour week) to become hand surgeons. And the biggest surprise of my albeit just beginning career, is how much I love what I do.  

I have always enjoyed being a hand surgeon, but in the whirlwind of training, passing boards, starting a busy practice, and taking yet another night of call, I too lost a bit of perspective. It seems to me, I don’t really truly appreciate what I have (or in this case what I do) until it is taken away. 

It was the beginning of March 2020 and life was busy and normal. I had heard a bit about a new bat virus, but was too busy finishing up a busy week before heading out of town to give it much notice. Suddenly, all elective cases were stopped; there were only a handful (pun intended) of patients to see in the clinic. It was a wonderful vacation — for a long weekend, and then it was terrible. I was irritable; I felt like I should be working, but there was no work to do. I felt like I should be enjoying the time with my children more, but let’s face it, I didn’t become a kindergarten teacher for a reason. Call, which previously was a burden, was a lifeline — keeping my practice afloat, keeping my hands nimble, keeping my mind sharp. Trauma, that used to mean missing dinner with my family, now meant I had a reason to leave the double phonograms at home and put on scrubs and loupes! I had a little more time to figure out the puzzle of a difficult fracture, walk a resident through the intricacies of a dysvascular finger, or spend a few extra minutes with a patient talking about their hand injury or their life. As I returned to elective practice, the harmony of a well-orchestrated day of carpal tunnel releases and the appreciation these simple procedures elicit from patients filled me with gratitude. 

I am grateful that this hiatus, however horrible, has not taken away hand surgery. It has provided me with a brief respite to refocus and realize the gift of healing each of us has been granted. It has surprised me how much I truly love being a hand surgeon. 

Lisa Kruse, MD
Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
University of Wisconsin