What makes a surgeon

I just found out that Dr Red Duke died. I know that no one lives forever, I know that he was a man. But somehow, he just seemed superhuman.. Immortal. I remember when I met him. It was during interviews for surgical residency. The chairman from UF had talked to him,so he personally greeted me. “Well Hello Suga! Ted told me to look for you!” And he followed that with a big sip of black coffee from a small hospital styrofoam cup then a puff of his handlebar mustache to clear the excess.

Hook.. Line… Sinker

I thought the attire around the institution was because it was ” Go Texas” day, but it turned out that cowboy boots were normal OR attire and Red actually did have an apartment in the hospital. He made residents and interns look like pansies. He taught us what devotion meant. He taught us what it meant to care. Ethics. Integrity. Perseverance. Tenacity. Equality. Dr Duke was a good southern man, but he treated me more like a surgeon than any of my 5 male counterparts .. despite ( or with the benefit of ) being called “honey” “suga” or “good Lookin”… You see Dr Duke very rarely would call you by name… But you could certainly hear him calling the residents by their nicknames from miles away.. “Hey sh**head” was common.

I remember the day that we had so many traumas at once that he said ” Holly, you take care of these and I’ll start on the others”. I understood what that meant and means. I’ve had so many wonderful mentors…. And that’s what makes a surgeon.

❤️