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The (Re)Birth of a Hand Surgeon

By Sandra Buchman Collins, MD

I love my job as a hand surgeon. I can think of no better way to spend my medical career. As anyone who has made the journey from student to practicing surgeon knows, however, there is a price we all pay. Long hours and nights in hospital during training are followed by the same in the early years of practice, and the pressure can sometimes feel unbearable. I have always been a “black cloud” on call. My first few years in practice, as staff at a level 1 trauma canter, the senior residents actively avoided being on call with me for exactly that reason. When I went into private practice 4 years later, my black cloud followed me to the level 2 center, partially due to my tendency to accept all open hand call days to build my practice. I developed a busy, rewarding practice which was, general orthopaedic injuries from on-call duties aside, 100% hand and upper extremity. But I felt the pressure of those long on call nights more each year.

I clung to call, fearing my practice would wither, but on January 1, 2021, after over 20 years, I decided to stop taking ER call. My career has been reborn! The knowledge that I am no longer “on the hook” on call has lifted a tremendous weight from my shoulders. I am happy heading in to work, and happier still coming home, knowing that my time is my own. I cheerfully accept urgent requests from colleagues without worrying about how to squeeze them in around the ER patients. My surgical days are filled with wonderful cases, and I still see enough urgent cases to have enough fractures and lacerations to keep me happy, all during daylight. I believe I will continue to enjoy my practice for many more years than if I had remained on call. 

Comment (1)
Robert Boretz
May 14, 2021 2:23 am

My practice has mirrored your experience and I cannot agree more. I don’t miss ER call and have a rewarding practice with a lot less stress.

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