Some Great Teachers #1

I imagine that all of us have had some great teachers. I have a few that I remember to this day. They do not grow on trees though.

This piece deals with MW. He is dead now, but I was fortunate to be able to speak with him several weeks before he died in order to just say "Thank you". I am so glad that I got to do this. He quite likely had the most neurosurgical cataloged knowledge of any person that I have ever known. He also had the rare ability to teach without getting in the way of his student. He didn't have to put his hands on the patient to show you how to do something. To say that he was highly thought of by his resident students is a gross understatement.

MW organized conferences in a program that did not spoon feed but left it up to the resident to learn. Basic brain anatomy was on Saturday morning. It was frequently attended by staff members who were not residents. If one asked a question on rounds or elsewhere, you got an answer, and frequently later, a call from MW's secretary saying that there was a reprint waiting for you in his office to amplify on that answer. MW was famous for asking a question, giving an answer, and pointing out that one might hear that question again when taking the board exam.

On the practical side MW shown with bright lights. He could stand by you or sit on a stool behind you while YOU, the resident, did the operation. The patient could be a pauper or a bank president, it mattered not. If a misfortune seemed likely, he was quick to calmly say what to do. Only in the times later did one realize how hard some procedures could be when he was no longer there. Maybe this surprises some who read this, but it was part of his talent. I am reasonably sure that such things are rare now (it was rare then) because of the malpractice climate.

MW left me a legacy long before he died. No, I did not become a teacher of residents (not much anyway). I realized that this was not a talent that I possessed. I thought of him often as I operated. When we talked as he was dying, he still kept his calm about the whole situation, explaining his pathology as if he were describing an interesting case in a conference. I'm really glad I got to say "thank you and good bye".