This Resident Roundup post comes from Tamy Ron Translateur, a fourth-year resident in orthopedics and traumatology at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia.
I would like other residents and trainees to know that dreams can come true. It may take time and hard work, but sooner or later, if you persist—and insist—dreams can be achieved.
As a woman, I have challenged the stereotypes and prejudices of a male-dominated specialty, to prove that women have the same qualifications and capabilities as men, making the sky the only limit.
I have personally endured long nights of study, through cold weather and hot coffee, while some of my peers have enjoyed holidays and parties at the same time. Every effort has become a great reward as I have worked toward a larger objective: to serve the community and be able to give something better to society.
In the medical profession, our goal is to serve others, to provide a cure for a patient’s ailments and the best treatment possible. The responsibility of being an orthopedic resident is immense as we enter the profession. One must not forget that we abide by the Hippocratic Oath, always keeping in mind benevolence and respect toward our patients.
Since entering residency, I have found that each encounter with a patient is a new chapter in learning, with the possibility of teaching us invaluable lessons. It is through our patients that we learn daily, through the gift of their patience with us, and our patience, that we become better professionals—and even better human beings.
As a 91-year-old patient of mine said recently, we restored his ability to walk and not be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life after he suffered a hip fracture that was successfully treated operatively. Great results like these motivate us to keep going.
Another common and motivating example is a child who has fallen while playing and has come into the emergency department with their mother or father, needing a cast for a nondisplaced fracture. Orthopedic treatment will quickly allow them to return to playing with their peers.
What has impressed me the most in my young career are the patients with an orthopedic oncological pathology for whom technological advances, depending on the particular case, allow the use of endoprostheses that save utilization of the limb, a management that in the past was resolved with limb amputation and likely loss of function.
Lastly, I want to remember a phrase from a teacher that continues to help me in my training: “Persistence makes all the difference. Set a goal and don’t quit until you are able to attain it.” One must not lose daily motivation in such an incredible field as orthopedics.
Tamy Ron Translateur
We’d like to hear from other residents and trainees. Interested in submitting a post to OrthoBuzz? Please see our Resident Roundup blog post guidelines.