By Rodger D. Powell, MD

When asked to contribute to the newsletter, my topic was what “fork in the road” decided my ultimate career. Two thoughts immediately came to mind. First, it would be abundantly clear that I am not a writer. Secondly, that there was more than one fork that determined my final choice.

My father owned a funeral home with an ambulance service. In Florida in the 1960s, the only requirement to work an ambulance was a standard first aid card, which could be obtained at age 14. As a result, I began working for my father when I reached the requisite age.

It was exciting, but not as much as the free time between calls, spent in the ER. This allowed me to watch the ED personnel work. It was then I decided to be an emergency room physician.

The first “fork” occurred during a summer stint as an orderly in surgery. In those days, orderlies were permitted in the surgeons’ lounge. I spent all my free time sitting in that smoke-filled room (Winston and Marlboro the apparent favorites), and listened to various specialty surgeons discuss matters from procedures and outcomes to divorces and alimony, and the likely medical train wreck of the newly minted Medicare program.

I once read the saying, “Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.” Apparently, this group of surgeons hadn’t read the same passage. They didn’t seem totally happy, which cast somewhat of a pall over my decision to become a surgeon. There was one notable exception. The Orthopaedic surgeons, as a whole, seemed to love their work and were the happiest of the lot. As an aside, they were the only ones not smoking. Duly influenced, I took the path to Orthopaedics, eschewing ER medicine.

During my residency, I trained with a dedicated group of attendings, all of whom embodied some or all of the characteristics I wanted to emulate. Each rotation had something to offer, and each was exciting and rewarding on its own merit. However, I kept having a feeling that I was only 90% there, whatever “there” was, and that last 10% might remain elusive.

There was another fork that I didn’t see coming and this occurred in my third year of residency. I spent three months on the Hand service with Paul Dell and within weeks realized I had found that 10%.

In contrast to the general, oncology, sports and pediatric rotations, this surgery seemed pristine. Performed for the most part in a bloodless field, the beauty and the anatomy and function of the hand was remarkable. Elegance, symmetry, and complexity combined to give a near perfect marriage of form and function. It was to be my final and most decisive “fork in the road.”

In 2002, writing in “The Orthopaedic Forum,” Dr. James Strickland penned an article entitled, “Having fun yet? A curmudgeon’s view of career management.” If you haven’t read it, please consider this an invitation to do so. If you read it years ago, consider reading it again. It adds body to the concept of finding a job you love.

Beginning at age 14 on an ambulance and continuing until I retired in 2020, I never really considered retiring. Because, as you know, to retire, you first had to have worked, and I’ve never worked a day in my life.

Rodger D. Powell, M.D.
February, 2022

Strickland JW. Having fun yet? A curmudgeon’s view of career management. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2002 Jun;84(6):1062-1065.