A DANCER / SURGEON’S PERSONAL STATEMENT Standing next to the drapery, my hands are folded together on top of my gown as if I were saying one final prayer. The electricity running through my body is a fusion of excitement and nervousness that’s further ignited by the bright lights overhead. Around me, people are moving about making their final preparations. With a slow deep breath, I close my eyes and finally the overture begins to play. Described above is the scene right before my first performance as the lead role of “Clara” in the “The Nutcracker” ballet. When I dance, I feel a fulfillment that no other experience has ever brought me before. That is, until I stepped into the operating room for the first time. During my clinical years in medical school, I have found many parallels between ballet and surgery. The combination of precision, dedication, and art is what transforms my passion for ballet into a passion for operating. Years of ballet training have taught me that dedication stems from passion, and without passion this dedication cannot be sustained for the amount of time it takes to master the art. This is also becoming evident in my pursuit of a surgical career. My dedication to the field not only resulted in a grade of honors for the clerkship, but also an understanding that I wanted to seize every opportunity available to me. One opportunity came after a very busy night on call in the trauma unit at Cook County Hospital. As I was packing my bags in the morning to go home and sleep, a patient came in with multiple gun shot wounds to the abdomen and was being taken to the OR immediately. There was no doubt in my mind- I was staying. Just like ballet, a surgeon must remain poised throughout their work, no matter what unexpected complications arise. One evening, we received a very unstable trauma patient who had attempted to amputate his arm with a machete. My duty was to hold pressure onto his lacerated artery while others prepared him for surgery. As the nurse prepped my hands into the sterile field, I noticed how tense and almost panicked she looked with each stroke of the brush. Meanwhile, I recognized how calm I had stayed while holding a critical artery amongst the mangled tissue. After the procedure the attending surgeon complimented me on my calm demeanor during such a stressful time. I am a dancer at heart and a surgeon in practice. There are many parallels between these two fields as have described above, which is why I cannot envision myself pursuing any other career.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:46:36 +0000
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