[voice over] It's a known fact that doctors make the worst patients. We ignore our symptoms until we're face down on the ground. We like to think we're a different species to our patients but none of us are invincible. Eventually we have to face the fact that we're human and that, sometimes, even the mightiest of us need help.
[voice over] My Mom didn't think she would win, she thought it was a popularity contest, and she wasn't popular. She was a woman and a fellow, and her arrogance could rub people the wrong way. She hadn't allowed herself to imagine the possibility of winning, because she wanted it too much. And when they called my mom's name, she was genuinely shocked. It was validation of all her hard work and sacrifice. She came home and told me she didn't win the Harper Avery. She earned it.
[voice over] Surgery is a solo act. We step up at the table with a scalpel in our hands and we go it alone. The isolation can start to define you. Because even though you are surrounded by teams... what it really comes down to is your training, your choices, your wits.. your hands, your stitch.
[voice over] Over the past 20 years, one of the most valuable tools a doctor has is the algorithm. Your patient's main complaint goes into a box...and then the formula helps you decide what to do next. But what happens when a problem doesn't fix into a box? Well...you are suddenly on your own, unexpectedly, with about a thousand paths to choose from.
[voice over] So, what do you do? How do you decide when you're left in the dark? How do you make sure you are not making the worst mistake in somebody's life? You close your eyes...you block out everyone and everything around you, and pray the voice inside you is right. Because once you decided...you can't ever go back.
[voice over] Sometimes you just need to get out of town. Get a new perspective. but you can't always see that you need a new perspective because you, well need a new perspective to see that. It's complicated.
No, I mean my name is "Dr. Shepherd". You said "Amy" and that makes me sound like some sorority girl tagging along on your brain surgery when, in fact, I am your co-surgeon.
[chuckles] No, it's not. It's child abuse. But Callie keeps shooting down all the cute names I suggest so my new strategy is to bury the cute names in a sea of terrible ones.
You do remember how hard it was to find the money to keep this place going. The foundation was our Hail Mary, and you saved us. We have to find a way to make it work with them.
That award was our gold standard. It was the measure of our success. It was everything we worked for. And I had to be there to see the look on her face. She was radiant. Catherine made it meaningless with this. She cheapened it. She cheapened our goals. She cheapened her memory. I can't stand that.
[voice over] Open your eyes, what do you see? More possibilities? Does your new view give you more hope? That's the goal, although it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes a shift in perspective just makes you see what you've lost.
[voice over] Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Emergency rooms are kept in business by people who've learned that lesson the hard way. Skydivers, bullriders, people whose bold ideas often result in broken bones and smushed spleens. Surgeons are trained to deal with the fallout of the bold ideas, we pick up the pieces and do our best to fit them back together.
