I would like to begin by asking each surgeon to recall an experience we have all shared. Do you remember
the day you received your acceptance letter for medical school? For me, it was in
1971, 36 years ago. I was in Connecticut, sitting in the kitchen with my parents,
both of whom had a profound respect for the value of education, probably because neither
had ever finished high school. Back then, our goals were simple and focused. We wanted
to take care of patients. We wanted to make sick people well. We wanted to ease suffering.
Somewhere along the way, we decided that surgery could best accomplish those goals.
As the years have passed since medical school, these simple goals may have become
blurred. Over the next few minutes, I would like to try to rekindle that idea that
surgery is the ultimate profession. I hope to accomplish this by reminding you of
some of the extraordinary things surgeons have done in the past and some of the things
surgeons do today.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 11,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
