PAYING IT FORWARD
Story Time with a Surgeon
by CLAIRE FELL , BS AND JOHN T . STUTTS , MD , MPH
While on a run through my neighborhood , Siri echoes , “ Could you total up the number of hours you have spent training this summer to become a student teacher ?” I responded , “ Yes , sir , on it .” After I finished my run , I reviewed my calendar and total the hours spent training at the home of Dr . Morton Kasdan ( a retired plastic surgeon ) to prepare for Surgical Skills Sundays . Dr . Kasdan and his wife Ann have hosted a surgical skills clinic for over 20 years . During these sessions , medical students learn how to tie knots , suture and how to be prepared for third- and fourth-year rotations . Over the summer months , I calculated I trained over 100 hours , but it felt much shorter .
How can I sum up all that I learned in those hundred hours ? I certainly learned the basic suture skills such as how to perform one-handed and two-handed knots . In my mind , I can hear Dr . Kasdan say , “ Again ,” or “ No wasted movements ” as he watches me evert the tissue to place a suture . These technical suture skills are not integrated into pre-clinical medical curriculum . The time spent at Dr . Kasdan ’ s provided me with a solid foundation that I will carry through my medical training . In addition , these Sunday classes taught me much more than just basic surgical skills . The intangible life lessons that Dr . Kasdan shared with me during those 100 hours are arguably more important than any learned manual skill .
Here are some of the top stories and lessons I have learned from Dr . Kasdan :
Story 1 : Find a Mentor
Dr . Harold Kleinert was the first hand surgeon at the University of Louisville . Dr . Kleinert became world-renowned through hard work and dedication to his career . He became a mentor for Dr . Kasdan who was then in medical school . Every night , Dr . Kasdan would take Dr . Kleinert ’ s instruments home and clean them . When Dr . Kleinert needed to operate , Dr . Kasdan delivered the instruments to him . He made himself an invaluable asset to Dr . Kleinert . The pair went on to perform the first revascularization of a partial digital amputation in November 1962 ( see Wikipedia ).
Lesson 1 : Be an invaluable asset . ( continued on page 14 ) August 2023 13