- Email: [email protected]
First Hand: Selecting a Hand Fellow
A TOUCH OF HUMANITY
First Hand: Selecting a Hand Fellow Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS, Melissa J. Shauver, MPH H, THE INTERVIEWING season is upon us, filling the air with great anticipation and excitement as we choose the hand fellow who will work side-by-side with us for the next whole year. Will there be chemistry between the fellow and the residents and the support staff? And more importantly, will the hand fellow like me? I can imagine this experience is similar to meeting your child’s significant other for the first time: will it be a wonderful match or a tormenting experience? Earlier in the year, I went through the pile of applications. Before me, reduced to a few pages, were dozens of highly qualified individuals, all top of the class since kindergarten, exceptional clinicians, and overall great people. The letters of recommendation all read similarly: “Dear Dr. Chung, . . . delightful, articulate, jovial, I cannot recommend this candidate any higher, best I have had in my career.” Despite this, a few applicants stood out. This one started a foundation to raise money for science education in underserved areas. That one was an NCAA Division 1 tennis ace. Another spent a summer at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris studying microgastronomy. When the interview day arrived, 18 carefully curated applicants congregated in the conference room, eagerly anticipating the interview questions and, of course, sizing up the competition. The tension in the room was palpable. In an effort to lighten the mood, I did my best impression of a coach giving a motivating pregame. I spoke passionately about the University of Michigan’s winningest football program in the country, trying to gloss over the fact that this distinction is really just a result of the program’s lengthy existence. So what if we have not won a national championship since the turn of
A
From the Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan Health System, and the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Received for publication April 26, 2013; accepted in revised form April 29, 2013. No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. Corresponding author: Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS, Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Michigan Health System, 2130 Taubman Center, SPC 5340, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5340; e-mail: [email protected]. 0363-5023/14/3902-0020$36.00/0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2013.04.036
the century or a Big Ten championship in nearly a decade? I promise you, during your training, we will hoist that crystal football in the air and you, yes you, will touch it! Looking around the room, some of the less sports-inclined candidates are rolling their eyes. The sports fans, however, are ready to jump out of their seats to join in with a rousing performance of The Victors. I know I have gotten at least a few of them to commit on the spot. As we broke up into individual groups for the interview sessions, I reviewed the first candidate’s impressive application and thought, “Wow, I cannot wait for this interview.” After 20 minutes of probing and a series of monotonous one-sentence answers, my enthusiasm had faded. What happened here? Are my colleagues, the ones who raved in the candidate’s letters of recommendation, trying to sell me a lemon? But there was hope, the next series of candidates happened to be the ones who lit up during my “pregame” speech. They spared no superlatives to tell me how much they wanted to come here, how much they are committed to humanity, and how much they adore me and wish to someday take over my job. If one has self-esteem concerns, these effusive responses will certainly put those to rest. But 1 candidate really rose above the rest and just blew me away. I asked, “Please share with me your best personality trait?” “Surely, Dr. Chung, you will never find anyone who can work harder than I. I will shovel manure from this pile to that pile and back if you want me to, until you tell me to stop.” I was stunned, overjoyed, and actually quite emotional that the lines were ones I used in my very own residency and fellowship interviews, when I was the eager prospective trainee fighting to distinguish myself from the dark-suited masses. Now they were being recited, almost verbatim. Of course, although fellowship interviews can seem like a comedy of errors, selecting a fellow from among the pool of exceptional and exceptionally well-qualified applicants is serious business. This person will be my sidekick, the person I will spend more time with than my wife and son over the next year. In addition to a hard worker, I am looking for compatibility, a spark, not unlike a first date. Am I comfortable with this person? Is he or she comfortable with me? Does this person share my love of research and eagerly support
© ASSH 䉬 Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. 䉬 343
344
A TOUCH OF HUMANITY
our studies? Will he or she fit in with my incredibly talented and highly efficient research team? Even the less-tangible factors need to be explored. I love Ann Arbor, but will the fellow share my affection? What about his or her significant other? Will he or she want to uproot life for a year to move to our liberal, gastronomically inclined Midwestern college town? It is not just the applicants who are being interviewed. The final questions in an interview reveal that prospective fellows are examining us as carefully as we are examining them. “Dr. Chung, what are the weaknesses of the program?” “What changes do you anticipate in this program?” or better yet, “Will you still be here when I come to train?” Given that million-dollar
contracts have not yet reached the hand surgery academic profession, I can speak with a straight face, unlike the college coaches who just brought their teams to the Bowl Championship Series. “Absolutely,” I say, “I will never leave you.” Ah, the wonderful season of recruiting hand surgery fellows, all outstanding, all intelligent, and all judging us as we judge them. Some of them will become our colleagues, some will become our friends, and some of them may even be future presidents of our national societies. To think we can pick someone with ensured success in a 20-minute interview may be fool’s gold. But like the first date that interviews so closely resemble, when it is right, you both know it. And it is golden.
Hands on Stamps: The Hand, the Second Eye Ahmadreza Afshar, MD, Neda Afshar, MSN
FIGURE 1: An eye in the hand reads Braille characters. Belgium. Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of Braille. Day of issue: November 22, 1975. Value: post value 10 frank ⫹ 5 frank for charity.
The symbol of the hand stands for power, acting, and omnipotence. The symbol of the eye stands for sense, knowledge, observation, and omniscience. The functions of the eye and hand are interactively bonded. These 2 essential human organs are conceptually integrated and illustrated on a stamp from Belgium (Fig. 1). From the Department of Orthopedics, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran; and the Davis Medical Center, University of California, Sacramento, CA. Received for publication January 9, 2013; accepted in revised form January 11, 2013. No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. Corresponding author: Ahmadreza Afshar, MD, Department of Orthopedics, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Modaress Street, Ershad Boulevard, Urmia 57157 81351, Iran; e-mail: [email protected]. 0363-5023/14/3902-0021$36.00/0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2013.01.011
FIGURE 2: A blind student is learning geography by using a raised-relief globe. He tries to recognize the reality of the external world by manipulation and palpation. Sweden. United Nations, International Year of Disabled Persons, 1981. Day of issue: April 28, 1981. Value: 1.50 kronor and 3.50 kronor.
Individuals with deprived vision try to perceive their surrounding environment by palpation and touching. This substitution is depicted in 2 stamps from Sweden (Fig. 2).
J Hand Surg Am. 䉬 Vol. , February
First Hand: Selecting a Hand Fellow Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS, Melissa J. Shauver, MPH H, THE INTERVIEWING season is upon us, filling the air with great anticipation and excitement as we choose the hand fellow who will work side-by-side with us for the next whole year. Will there be chemistry between the fellow and the residents and the support staff? And more importantly, will the hand fellow like me? I can imagine this experience is similar to meeting your child’s significant other for the first time: will it be a wonderful match or a tormenting experience? Earlier in the year, I went through the pile of applications. Before me, reduced to a few pages, were dozens of highly qualified individuals, all top of the class since kindergarten, exceptional clinicians, and overall great people. The letters of recommendation all read similarly: “Dear Dr. Chung, . . . delightful, articulate, jovial, I cannot recommend this candidate any higher, best I have had in my career.” Despite this, a few applicants stood out. This one started a foundation to raise money for science education in underserved areas. That one was an NCAA Division 1 tennis ace. Another spent a summer at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris studying microgastronomy. When the interview day arrived, 18 carefully curated applicants congregated in the conference room, eagerly anticipating the interview questions and, of course, sizing up the competition. The tension in the room was palpable. In an effort to lighten the mood, I did my best impression of a coach giving a motivating pregame. I spoke passionately about the University of Michigan’s winningest football program in the country, trying to gloss over the fact that this distinction is really just a result of the program’s lengthy existence. So what if we have not won a national championship since the turn of
A
From the Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan Health System, and the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Received for publication April 26, 2013; accepted in revised form April 29, 2013. No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. Corresponding author: Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS, Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Michigan Health System, 2130 Taubman Center, SPC 5340, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5340; e-mail: [email protected]. 0363-5023/14/3902-0020$36.00/0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2013.04.036
the century or a Big Ten championship in nearly a decade? I promise you, during your training, we will hoist that crystal football in the air and you, yes you, will touch it! Looking around the room, some of the less sports-inclined candidates are rolling their eyes. The sports fans, however, are ready to jump out of their seats to join in with a rousing performance of The Victors. I know I have gotten at least a few of them to commit on the spot. As we broke up into individual groups for the interview sessions, I reviewed the first candidate’s impressive application and thought, “Wow, I cannot wait for this interview.” After 20 minutes of probing and a series of monotonous one-sentence answers, my enthusiasm had faded. What happened here? Are my colleagues, the ones who raved in the candidate’s letters of recommendation, trying to sell me a lemon? But there was hope, the next series of candidates happened to be the ones who lit up during my “pregame” speech. They spared no superlatives to tell me how much they wanted to come here, how much they are committed to humanity, and how much they adore me and wish to someday take over my job. If one has self-esteem concerns, these effusive responses will certainly put those to rest. But 1 candidate really rose above the rest and just blew me away. I asked, “Please share with me your best personality trait?” “Surely, Dr. Chung, you will never find anyone who can work harder than I. I will shovel manure from this pile to that pile and back if you want me to, until you tell me to stop.” I was stunned, overjoyed, and actually quite emotional that the lines were ones I used in my very own residency and fellowship interviews, when I was the eager prospective trainee fighting to distinguish myself from the dark-suited masses. Now they were being recited, almost verbatim. Of course, although fellowship interviews can seem like a comedy of errors, selecting a fellow from among the pool of exceptional and exceptionally well-qualified applicants is serious business. This person will be my sidekick, the person I will spend more time with than my wife and son over the next year. In addition to a hard worker, I am looking for compatibility, a spark, not unlike a first date. Am I comfortable with this person? Is he or she comfortable with me? Does this person share my love of research and eagerly support
© ASSH 䉬 Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. 䉬 343
344
A TOUCH OF HUMANITY
our studies? Will he or she fit in with my incredibly talented and highly efficient research team? Even the less-tangible factors need to be explored. I love Ann Arbor, but will the fellow share my affection? What about his or her significant other? Will he or she want to uproot life for a year to move to our liberal, gastronomically inclined Midwestern college town? It is not just the applicants who are being interviewed. The final questions in an interview reveal that prospective fellows are examining us as carefully as we are examining them. “Dr. Chung, what are the weaknesses of the program?” “What changes do you anticipate in this program?” or better yet, “Will you still be here when I come to train?” Given that million-dollar
contracts have not yet reached the hand surgery academic profession, I can speak with a straight face, unlike the college coaches who just brought their teams to the Bowl Championship Series. “Absolutely,” I say, “I will never leave you.” Ah, the wonderful season of recruiting hand surgery fellows, all outstanding, all intelligent, and all judging us as we judge them. Some of them will become our colleagues, some will become our friends, and some of them may even be future presidents of our national societies. To think we can pick someone with ensured success in a 20-minute interview may be fool’s gold. But like the first date that interviews so closely resemble, when it is right, you both know it. And it is golden.
Hands on Stamps: The Hand, the Second Eye Ahmadreza Afshar, MD, Neda Afshar, MSN
FIGURE 1: An eye in the hand reads Braille characters. Belgium. Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of Braille. Day of issue: November 22, 1975. Value: post value 10 frank ⫹ 5 frank for charity.
The symbol of the hand stands for power, acting, and omnipotence. The symbol of the eye stands for sense, knowledge, observation, and omniscience. The functions of the eye and hand are interactively bonded. These 2 essential human organs are conceptually integrated and illustrated on a stamp from Belgium (Fig. 1). From the Department of Orthopedics, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran; and the Davis Medical Center, University of California, Sacramento, CA. Received for publication January 9, 2013; accepted in revised form January 11, 2013. No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. Corresponding author: Ahmadreza Afshar, MD, Department of Orthopedics, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Modaress Street, Ershad Boulevard, Urmia 57157 81351, Iran; e-mail: [email protected]. 0363-5023/14/3902-0021$36.00/0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2013.01.011
FIGURE 2: A blind student is learning geography by using a raised-relief globe. He tries to recognize the reality of the external world by manipulation and palpation. Sweden. United Nations, International Year of Disabled Persons, 1981. Day of issue: April 28, 1981. Value: 1.50 kronor and 3.50 kronor.
Individuals with deprived vision try to perceive their surrounding environment by palpation and touching. This substitution is depicted in 2 stamps from Sweden (Fig. 2).
J Hand Surg Am. 䉬 Vol. , February