Above the Knife
When I was an intern starting my general surgery training, so many extraordinary things happened that I started to write them down on scraps of paper, napkins, paper towels, and on floppy disks when I had a minute. Eventually, I put all those words together in a coherent manner to create my story. Please join us for a new post every week or two as we follow the journey of one general surgery intern’s rigorous first year of training.
- June 6, 2026
Above The Knife: Section 12
“I’m a circulating nurse – I circle, I fetch, I judge silently” Florence Nightingale I walked into the room,…
Read more - May 18, 2026
Above The Knife: Section 11
“New doctor rule #1: walk fast and look concerned. Nobody will notice the confusion.” Anonymous, but quickly learned by every…
Read more - May 7, 2026
Above the Knife: Section 10
“Everyone thinks I'm a hypochondriac. It makes me sick.” Felix Unger, classic character from “The Odd Couple” I was…
Read more - April 20, 2026
Section 9
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep…
Read more - March 29, 2026
Section 8
“There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you are useless, and the kind that fires…
Read more - March 6, 2026
Section 7
“This was not guilt: guilt is what you feel when you have done something wrong. What I felt was shame:…
Read more - February 22, 2026
Section 6
“Some wounds grow worse beneath the surgeon’s hand; better that they were not touched at all.” Publius Ovidius Nasa, known…
Read more - February 3, 2026
Section 5
“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones…
Read more - January 19, 2026
Section 4
“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves… Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All…
Read more - January 12, 2026
Section 3
“Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray”. Rene Leriche I…
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