I became an orthopaedic surgeon because there isn’t any other way I could enjoy my life more than working with kids and their parents to help them overcome the orthopaedic conditions they face.

When I think about how I decided to become an orthopaedist, I am tempted to pull out the essay I enclosed with my applications to residency. The problem is, this essay lacked 2 things: honesty and humor.

I became an orthopaedic surgeon because of my uncle Mark. He is 14 years older than me and when I was in high school, he was going through his residency and cardiology fellowship. My dad had encouraged me to be a doctor since I was a small boy, but I never really considered what type of doctor I should become. It was my uncle Mark who directed me towards orthopaedic surgery.

This is my story, and I’m sticking to it. I have read many emotional, heart-wrenching stories about how and why orthopaedists became orthopaedists, but my story isn’t that dramatic.