Forgive and Remember

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“Surgery is a funny business: You force strong-willed, aggressive, intelligent individuals to become peons. The goal is by having these individuals sublimate all their own independence, they will come out five years later as strong individuals with confidence in their own skills, judgment, and ability.”

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“The most important thing is complete intellectual honesty, a willingness to admit problems and personal deficiencies. Someone who recognizes his errors and ‘fesses up.’ Look, I could teach a gorilla to operate in six months, but I can’t teach honesty and responsibility. It’s the people who have these qualities who make outstanding surgeons.”

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“Are you going tonight to hear Dr. Daily of Eastern Hospital speak? You really should, you know. You can learn a lot from seeing him. He is a very distinguished surgeon—one of the most creative surgeons in America. You can learn a lot from seeing him. You know, he has never trained anyone of prominence. And in academic surgery that is what counts most—whom you have trained. Long after your research is forgotten and your papers are outdated, people will remember you by whom you have trained. And Daily has trained no one—at Eastern—where he gets the pick of the top talent. You know why? He can’t work with residents. He has to compete with them. He has to dominate them. And he winds up crushing them. Go hear him talk. He can tell you a lot about surgery.”

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“The conference is for the housestaff really. First, we go through the dialogue to point out verbally, schematically, and theatrically the issues involved. It is a teaching device first and foremost. Second, it shows by example honesty and lack of immunity from the problems of the profession. It teaches that these problems will be with them their whole professional life. Third it’s good for our own characters to admit mistakes. Deaths and complications are great levelers in surgery. It teaches that you are not the archangel Gabriel, that you bleed when cut”

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“The intern who calls you up and says X has a fever does not inspire your trust; but the intern who calls and says X has a urinary tract infection is altogether different. He reports the symptoms, gives you his diagnosis, and tells you what he plans to do. I don’t need housestaff to tell me my patients have fevers—any secretary can do that—good housestaff take a little more initiative”

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“It would look suspicious if you are doing major surgery and, week after week, you have no deaths and complications. You're going to have these, especially deaths, if you do major surgery. You can lead a long and happy life without deaths and complications, but you have to give up major surgery.”