”I LIKE THE CHALLENGE, THE SELF-DISCIPLINE YOU NEED TO SUCCEED. SUCCESS DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON YOU. “
bikes—either mountain or road—three to four times a week for a few hours at a time. I’ll usually run once on one of the other days. It’s difficult with my schedule, but it’s important to make time for it. PULSE: How important is a healthy diet for maintaining strength and endurance for a physical activity like mountaineering and climbing? JN: A healthy diet is vital. The body is a machine, and it needs fuel to be able to perform. It’s pretty versatile, though, and for short periods it can pretty much do with whatever you give it. In the long run, though, you need to feed it enough calories to sustain whatever activity you’re going to do but not so much that it stores it as fat that you have to lug around. Long-term, it’s good to get
in the habit of eating healthy, but being active does allow you eat tasty, unhealthy things sometimes by minimizing the negative impact. I drink about a liter of water an hour for most aerobic exercise. Normally I don’t drink a huge amount during the course of a workday. Either I’m inside, or it’s a conscious choice to minimize rest stops. PULSE: How do you think being an athlete has translated into your work as an emergency physician? JN: Being in the emergency room is a pretty stressful experience for everyone: patients, nurses and doctors. Having an outlet for the stress keeps it from building up too much in between shifts. Also, being in stressful situations in sports or activities trains you to think fast, stay calm and focus
on the tasks at hand. PULSE: What is it like to play such an important role in your community? JN: I know it sounds a little cheesy, but I think it’s important for us to give back to the community. In the emergency department, we provide a service to the community, being there night and day to take care of anyone in need, regardless of who they are. I think my position as a physician gives me a unique opportunity to help the community. Maybe we don’t make huge differences on a societal level, but we do make huge changes to each individual’s life. I like that I can go home each day knowing I made a difference in someone’s life, even if it’s a little difference. ?
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SUMMER 2013