Question everything

How do we know that we know what we know: Getting to, and staying at, the intersection of creativity and knowledge.

Confusing? Oh yeah.

Bear with me.

Last week I performed a ten hour surgery on one of our patients that traveled to us from the midwest. Her before and after (only 12 hours after surgery) is shown below.

We performed a plus size tummy tuck® , bra line back lift ™, and breast reduction. Prior to surgery I visualized what I would be doing and what the result would be.

Voila!

The patient did great, she did not need any pain medications, and she is healing and looking great already.

Long complicated surgeries like these always make me ponder. How did I get here? And equally important, where am I am headed?

That pondering often leads me back to the idea of staying at the cross-roads of creativity and knowledge. Too much of one thing may lead us to think we know all that there is to know. I am reminded by the saying “Knowledge is the greatest hindrance to learning”. Then perhaps too much focus on creativity and not enough on knowledge may tempt us away from the perseverance that is needed to stay the course to where we are headed.

So it continues. What do I know now and how can I do better? How do I not fall into the trap of thinking I have learned all that can be learned? How can do I provide my patients even better results?

And so……how do I know that I know what I know? See, it all makes sense.

Until next time,

All the best,

Remus Repta, MD