One lesson that has stayed with me is that patients will remember how you made them feel long after they forget the specifics of their treatment. Early in your career it’s so easy to become overwhelmed focusing on the technical details, as that has been the tenet of training since we began medical school. Technical excellence is essential, but empathy, communication, and trust are equally important. It is very powerful to be able to walk into an exam room or even the pre-operative holding area and meet a patient when they are at their most debilitated, but also most scared of the unknown of what will come next and being able to empathetically share that space with the patient, help them understand their treatment options, and giving them a path to how we can get them back to health, whether that’s through surgery or non-surgical methods. Taking the time to listen, educate, and connect with patients has helped me build stronger relationships and provide better care throughout my career.

We are in an interesting time within the field of spine surgery. Emerging technology is permeating at a rapid rate with pre-op surgical planning, navigation and robotics, enabling technologies that write our notes for us and sum up evidence for treatment decisions. Much of that technology will make spine care safer and more efficient, but they come with substantial risk as well. Today’s spine surgeons must be able to understand when it’s appropriate to incorporate new emerging technologies but also must have the organic skills to succeed if none of these are available. It is always heartbreaking to me to see a case cancelled just because intra-operative navigation or the robot isn’t functioning and believe we owe it to our trainees to make sure that they are not only proficient without these technologies but also critical of when to adopt them and their potential downfalls.

NASS has played a such an important role in my professional development throughout every stage of my career. As a trainee, it was the first meeting I ever went to that got me excited for a career in spine surgery. It provided access to world-class education and introduced me to leaders whose work shaped my understanding of spine care. Many of the mentors I met at my first NASS meeting I still talk to today as colleagues. As my career progressed, NASS became a platform for presenting research, collaborating with colleagues across disciplines, and contributing to the advancement of the field. NASS has given me platforms for continuing education through special topic-specific sessions and emerging research, career development through both networking opportunities and committee membership, mentorship of those interested in pursuing a spine career, and advocacy to ensure that we can continue to strongly represent ourselves as a spine community. NASS has challenged me to continuously grow as a surgeon, educator, and researcher while fostering a community dedicated to improving patient care.