Excerpts from this interview follow:
About loving surgery:
Edward Copeland: It may sound strange, but surgery is a hobby. There aren't many jobs where you can actually make money from your hobby. Now, helping people, getting paid in return, and teaching medical students are all my hobbies. So for those of us who grew up as surgeons and grew up in a university atmosphere, we're one of the lucky few who actually get paid to do what we pay them to do.
Of his uncle Murray Copeland, who served as president of the American Cancer Society from 1964 to 1965, he said:
Jane Kenamore: Please tell me about your uncle. Perhaps he was your first mentor?
EC: He was like, well, my mom and dad were my first mentors.But Uncle Murray [Copeland] He did exist, he was the president of the American Cancer Society, and he had quite a bit of fame. And he was a surgical oncologist. He did his head and neck and everything. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University, so I think it was 1927 or something like that, and when he came, he was also doing radiation therapy and medical oncology. Maybe a little later. He understands it, but it doesn't really stick in his mind.
But when he was at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, [Charles F.] Gesichter actually began radiation therapy in the basement of the facility. And Gesichter was in Georgetown, where my uncle was, who was a pathologist and worked in the military for four years with a guy named IS. [Isadore Schwaner] Actually, Ravdin was at the University of Pennsylvania, so I went there as well. But he was real and I could understand that. That's why I wanted to emulate him.
About trauma surgery in Vietnam:
JK: According to your resume, you went to Vietnam after your stay there?
EC: Hooray. That's because you're part of the Berry Plan. It's clear that a guy named Berry started the program. Do you know about Berry Plan?
JK: i will do it. i will do it.
It may sound strange, but surgery is a hobby. There aren't many jobs where you can actually make money from your hobby. Now you are helping people and getting paid for it. Everything is a hobby, including teaching medical students.
edward copland
EC: So I signed up for two years. After I finished, I was offered the opportunity to go to Walter Reed Institute, I was offered the opportunity to go to Europe, I was also offered the opportunity to go to the burn unit. But I'm left-handed, so I didn't want to spend a few years out of the surgical field.
To be honest, I was worried that I would lose my skills.
JK: Is it that different if you're left-handed?
EC: No, I thought so. I didn't know if it was going to happen, but then I said, well, let's go. So I went.
JK: Understood.
EC: And here I sit. I survived.
JK: good. So how did that experience impact you professionally and personally?
EC: Well, personally, I don't think it affected me at all. Professionally, it was a great experience. There were no injuries to the University of Pennsylvania. I'm sure you've seen a nurse who cut her wrist. I'm very serious about it.
So I had to learn how to do trauma surgery. The wartime trauma is a little different than the trauma on the American mainland, but I was stationed in Saigon, and I worked with the federal governor's staff, the Vietnamese who worked for us, or the military, etc. , cared for some 200,000 people. So we had a lot of trauma for civilians.
So, I'm a pretty accomplished trauma surgeon, and I've had what you would call trauma and all that stuff at different times throughout my career. I'm a cancer surgeon. So, without a doubt, it was a huge boon for my own personal growth.
It also gave us a chance to look at other parts of the world and see what this country should and shouldn't do. If the people who recently made the decision had gone to Vietnam more, I don't think they would have made the decision, to tell you the truth. So, I can observe it and be frustrated by it, but I can't do anything about it, but there was certainly a spread from that perspective.
For an 80 hour work week:
JK: The 80-hour week was mentioned in the President's speech about his role in guiding and creating a surgical lifestyle, which appears to have been introduced shortly before he took office.
EC: It was.
JK: More working hours were allowed compared to the old system. So you were trained under the old system, but you were training and you were training others under the new system as well. What do you think about the pros and cons of both?
EC: My hobby is surgery. If someone told me they can build a model airplane in his 80 hours and I'm used to building it in his 120 hours, I'd tell them to stick their head in the sand. Probably. It's that simple.
About studying at the University of Pennsylvania with Jonathan Rose, a renowned surgeon and pioneer in parenteral nutrition:
JK: In addition, in his presidential address, he quoted a letter from Dr. [Jonathan] Upon acceptance as a Fellow, we will award you the Rose of the University of Pennsylvania.
EC: It was actually approved by the board.
JK: Regents Committee? Oh, sorry.
EC: Yeah. When he became regent.
I'm left-handed, I'm extremely left-handed. So we had to make sure that the tools and right-handed people could actually use them with their left hand. The answer is yes, it was fun and I was good at it. And from that moment on, I knew where I needed to be.
edward copland
JK: Ah, I understand. “I continue to hope that the university continues to enjoy a reputation as an advocate for the patient, not an advocate for surgeons.”
EC: I'll try to guess. You listened to me.
JK: I have.
EC: Then that statement makes a lot of sense. Dr. Rose was now president of the university. He was president of the American College of Surgeons. He was president of the American Cancer Society. He was president of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Quaker and a very nice man.
I once heard him say “Baldardash.” That's the worst thing I've ever heard him say. And unfortunately he is already dead. And Dr. Rose had a long memory. We thought he wouldn't remember any of us, but he remembered all of us. And now I have trained many people, so I remember them all too.
Last night, someone said, “Ted, how do you remember this?'' I said, well, I lived it. So remember the mole on the side of your face. It's just there.
And I know Dr. Rose told me the same thing when I went to Florida from MD Anderson or the University of Texas. I said, Dr. Rose, what do you think? And he said, “Just out of the way.” I mean, I'm not going to do much in Europe and I'm not going to travel all over the country, but six, five, I don't really care.
Regarding the Affordable Care Act, which had not yet taken effect:
JK: What do you think about the Affordable Care Act? I mean, we haven't seen it in action yet.
EC: Well, we don't know yet. I put it in place. Let's see what happens. So obviously it's simple. I don't know what the big deal is. Place it in place. If it works or not, please change it. That's the beauty of democracy.
HMO, everyone wanted an HMO. I knew they wouldn't work. HMO, you pay doctors to treat certain people and they take whatever is left over. Therefore, he does not provide any care. he's getting a lot of money. He cares a lot. It doesn't work because he doesn't get paid. Here, anytime, anywhere. So, do you know about the HMOs that exist now? Yeah, Medicare has his HMOs, but all his HMOs…By the way, we had a pretty good his HMO here in Washington too. However, HMOs have disappeared. They didn't work, so they left. It didn't work. And we vote.
So if this medicine doesn't work, we will vote because it will soon become obvious. Vote for someone who wants to do something else. But in general, I've always been a supporter of universal healthcare. everytime.
