Unit Six：The Making of a Surgeon

Unit Six

A famous surgeon tells about the importance of self-confidence from his own experience 　

THE MAKING OF A SURGEON 　

Dr. Nolen

How does a doctor recognize the point in time when he is finally a "surgeon"? As my year as chief resident drew to a close I asked myself this question on more than one occasion.

The answer, I concluded, was self-confidence. When you can say to yourself, "There is no surgical patient I cannot treat competently, treat just as well as or better than any other surgeon" - then, and not until then, you are indeed a surgeon. I was nearing that point.

Take, for example, the emergency situations that we encountered almost every night. The first few months of the year I had dreaded the ringing of the telephone. I knew it meant another critical decision to be made. Often, after I had told Walt or Larry what to do in a particular situation, I'd have trouble getting back to sleep. I'd review all the facts of the case and, not infrequently, wonder if I hadn't made a poor decision. More than once at two or three in the morning, after lying awake for an hour, I'd get out of bed, dress and drive to the hospital to see the patient myself. It was the only way I could find the peace of mind I needed to relax.

Now, in the last month of my residency, sleeping was no longer a problem. There were still situations in which I couldn't be certain my decision had been the right one, but I had learned to accept this as a constant problem for a surgeon, one that could never be completely resolved-- and I could live with it. So, once I had made a considered decision, I no longer dwelt on it. Reviewing it wasn't going to help and I knew that with my knowledge and experience, any decision I'd made was bound to be a sound one. It was a nice feeling.

In the operating room I was equally confident. I knew I had the knowledge, the skill, the experience to handle any surgical situation I'd ever encounter in practice. There were no more butterflies in my stomach when I opened up an abdomen or a chest. I knew that even if the case was one in which it was impossible to anticipate the problem in advance, I could handle whatever I found. I'd sweated through my share of stab wounds of the belly, of punctured lungs, of compound fractures. I had sweated over them for five years. I didn't need to sweat any more.

Nor was I afraid of making mistakes. I knew that when I was out in practice I would inevitably err at one time or another and operate on someone who didn't need surgery or sit on someone who did. Five years earlier - even one year earlier - I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had had to take sole responsibility for a mistake in judgment. Now I could. I still dreaded errors - would do my best to avoid them -- but I knew they were part of a surgeon's life. I could accept this fact with calm ness because I knew that if I wasn't able to avoid a mistake; chances were that no other surgeon could have, either.

This all sounds conceited and I guess it is - but a surgeon needs conceit. He needs it to encourage him in trying moments when he's bothered by the doubts and uncertainties that are part of the practice of medicine. He has to feel that he's as good as and probably better than any other surgeon in the world. Call it conceit - call it self-confidence; whatever it was, I had it.

　

New Words

surgeon n.
doctor who performs operations 外科医生

self-confidence n. 自信心

making n.
means of gaining success 成功之道

resident n. 住院医生

conclude vt.
arrive at a belief or opinion by reasoning 得出结论

surgical a.
of, by, or for surgery 外科的;手术的

competently ad.
with the necessary skill 称职地;胜任地

competent a.

near vt.
approach; come closer to

emergency n.
sudden and dangerous happening needing

immediate action 紧急情况；急症

encounter vt .
be faced with (difficulties, danger, etc.) ;

meet unexpectedly 遭到;T意外地遇见

dread vt.
fear greatly 畏惧

critical a.
important at a time of danger and

difficulty 紧要的;关键性的

particular a.
belonging to some one person, thing, or occasion 特定的

case n.
instance of disease or injury 病例

infrequently ad.
seldom; not often

relax vi.
become less tense 放松
relaxation n.

residency n.   the last stage of a doctor's training

at a hospital 高级专科住院实习(期)

constant a.
happening all the time; unchanging 不断的 ; 始终如一的

resolve vt.
solve 解决

resolution n.

considered a.
are fully thought out 经过深思熟虑的

dwell vi.
live ( in a place) 居住

bound a.
very likely; certain 一定的;必然的

sound a.
correct; based on good judgment 正确的; 合理的

confident a.
sure of oneself and one's abilities 自信的

confidence n.

handle vt.
manage, deal with 处理

butterfly n. 蝴蝶

abdomen n .
belly 腹(部)

anticipate vt.
see beforehand 预期

anticipation n.

sweat n. 汗 vi. 流汗

stab n.
thrust made with a pointed weapon 刺,戳

belly n.   肚,腹部

puncture vt.
make a small hole in (sth. ) with sth.
pointed 刺穿

compound a.
having more than one part 复合的

fracture n.
break in a bone 骨折

compound fracture n.   复合性骨折

inevitably ad.
unavoidably 不可避免地

inevitable a.

err vi.   make mistakes; do wrong

operate vi.   perform a surgical operation 动手术

surgery n. 外科; 外科手术

sole a.
unshared; one and only 唯一的

responsibility n. 责任, 责任心

avoid vt.
escape; keep or get away from 避免

conceited a.
having too high an opinion of oneself 自负的

conceit n.
too high an opinion of oneself

trying a.
hard to endure or bear; very difficult 难受的; 恼人的

bother vt.
annoy, trouble 烦扰, 麻烦

uncertainty n.
uncertain condition; doubt

Phrases & Expressions

　

draw to a close
come to an end 结束

live with
learn to accept ( sth. unpleasant); tolerate 学会适应 ; 容忍

dwell on
think, write, or speak a lot about 老是想着; 详述 ; 强调

(be) bound to (do)
(be) certain to (do) 一定...,必然...

in practice
(医师,律师等)在开业中;在实践中

butterflies in the stomach
feelings of nervousness 忐忑不安

open up
cut open 切开 , 给…开刀

in advance
ahead of time 预先 , 事前

at one time or another
sometime or other 早晚

sit on
delay taking action on; do nothing about 拖延; 搁置
　
Proper Names
　
Nolen
诺兰(姓氏)

Walt
沃尔特(男子名 Walter 的昵称)

Larry 拉里 ( 男子名 Lawrence 的昵称 )

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·Unit Six：The Making of a Surgeon

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