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
5 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 almo-
st every night. The first few months of the year I had dreaded the ring-
10 ing 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,
15 I'd get out of bed, dress and drive to the hospital to see the patient my-
self.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 de-
cision had been the right one, but I had learned to accept this as a con-
20 stant 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.
25 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 ogened 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
30 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
35 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
40 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 con-
ceit. He needs it to encourage him in trying moments when he's bothered
by the doubts and unc ertainties that are part of the practice of medicine.
45 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
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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 reaso-
ning 得出结论
surgical / a. of, by, or for surgery 外科的;手术的
cotnpetently / 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. carefully thought out 经过深思熟虑的
dwell /dwel/ 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 la:lvi. 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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