Why Surgeons Should Read Dostoevsky
In medical school, we’re taught anatomy, physiology, and the fine mechanics of cutting and suturing. We study case reports and complication rates. We are told to be precise, calm, and efficient. But what we are rarely taught, at least not explicitly, is how to live with the emotional and moral weight of surgery. That’s where […]
Tools I Trust: What Surgical Instruments Taught Me About Loyalty
I’ve held a scalpel in my hand more times than I can count. In the operating room, surrounded by bright light and hushed intensity, your tools become an extension of your body. You trust them completely, without hesitation. There’s no room for doubt when a human life is open before you. But over time, I […]
The Unspoken Language of the OR: What I Learned About Humanity in Four Operating Rooms Across Three Countries
Beyond Words: A Universal Language I’ve often said that the operating room (OR) is a world of its own. Regardless of the country, hospital, or spoken language, once you step into that space scrubbed in, gloved, and masked, communication becomes something different. It becomes quieter, more instinctive. It relies less on words and more on […]
The Surgeon as Translator: How Culture Shapes the Way We Understand Health
Not Just a Scalpel, But a Bridge As a surgeon who has trained and practiced across the UK, the US, and continental Europe, I’ve come to realize that technical skill is only part of the job. Just as critical is the ability to translate not just language, but culture, values, and deeply held beliefs about […]
What It Means to ‘Procure an Organ’: The Humanity Behind a Clinical Term
Beyond the Phrase “Organ procurement.” It’s a phrase that rolls off the tongue in hospital corridors, written in clinical notes and whispered in team huddles. Yet behind that sterile terminology lies a story of generosity, grief, and profound human connection. For many of us in medicine, procuring an organ is not merely a technical step […]
Maps, Memory, and Migration: How I Charted My Life Across Three Systems
Drawing My First Map As a boy growing up in what was once Yugoslavia, I loved maps. Not just for their geography, but for their order—how roads connected, borders were drawn, and rivers found their way through mountains. I’d sit for hours sketching my own imaginary countries, complete with capital cities, mountain ranges, and transit […]
Relearning Math as a Surgeon: Why Curiosity Never Retires
Returning to the Basics Not long ago, I found myself back in a place I hadn’t visited since medical school—or maybe even high school: a math textbook. At first, it felt strange. Here I was, a practicing transplant surgeon with years of experience, rewatching videos on calculus and scribbling algebra problems into the margins of […]
Volunteering Beyond Borders: What I Learned From Humanitarian Surgery in the Middle East and Africa
An Unexpected Calling When I first began my training in transplant surgery, I imagined a future rooted in the high-tech hospitals of major cities. I pictured bright operating rooms, full of advanced equipment and a well-trained team. What I didn’t expect was that some of my most transformative experiences would take place thousands of miles […]