We recruit for attitude and train for skill.

Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so.

Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.

Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about it. Ask a patient or a colleague what they think about it. See if you can keep the conversation going.

Culture matters. Of course, if physicians are rewarded or penalized for their service and results, the culture will change. But the key values we doctors are being pressed to embrace are humility, teamwork, and discipline.

I chose surgery because I thought that perhaps this would make me more like the kind of person I wanted to be.

If I became just a brain in a jar - as long as I can communicate back and forth with people, that would be okay with me.