Pauline Chen is an Asian woman who has managed to balance her success as a surgeon with family life. With her academic background at Harvard and Yale and her surgical skills, she has become a role model for many female medical students. Through her deep reflections on life and death, she emphasizes the role of a doctor and demonstrates what true dedication is.
I read a book about the life of a surgeon by chance. The book I read was Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality by Pauline Chen. This book has been a great inspiration to many medical students and medical professionals because it is not just about conveying medical knowledge, but also about the deep reflections on life and death that surgeons face in their lives.
Pauline Chen has an impressive educational background that would make anyone think she’s a marvel. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard, graduated from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, and completed her surgical training at Yale University Hospital, where she continues to practice today as a leading liver transplant and liver cancer specialist in the United States and internationally. Her career is literally impeccable, and her accomplishments are highly regarded in the medical community.
However, Pauline Chen’s impressive academic credentials are not the only reason many people praise her; her success as a woman and as an Asian in the still predominantly white American society is why many people admire her and look up to her as a role model. While we can say that women have come a long way in our society today, it’s only in comparison to the past, and society is still very much male-dominated. It’s even more difficult for a woman to rise to the top, especially in a field that requires both physical and mental strength, such as surgery. Nevertheless, Pauline Chen has overcome these limitations to excel in her field.
Every female medical student has thought about her future position and role at some point. In addition to being a doctor, which requires constant sacrifice to take care of patients, female doctors have another job at home: being a mom. No matter how much “multi-tasking” skills are required, it’s not easy to juggle both roles perfectly, and Pauline Chen, a mother of twin daughters, is a great example for many female medical students as she has managed to balance her career and family.
In addition, she has demonstrated not just surgical skill, but also the personal qualities of a doctor and a deep empathy for her patients. In her book, Pauline Chen points out that doctors deal with life, but in real life, they encounter death more often than life. Surgeons, in particular, are not only involved in saving patients’ lives, but they are also deeply involved in the process of their dying. In the process, she argues that doctors should realize the dignity of life and constantly strive to protect it.
Pauline Chen emphasizes that the dignity of life should be taught, especially in anatomy labs. She says that medical students should practice dissecting cadavers and be grateful to those who donate their bodies. This should not just be a learning opportunity, but a way to show deep respect for their contributions to learning and advancing medicine through the human body. After reading this book, I realized that Chen’s words resonated with me through my own anatomy lab. Facing the corpse lying in front of me in anatomy lab, I felt uncomfortable at first, but that discomfort made me realize more deeply the value of life and my responsibility to it.
Chen’s experience itself taught me a lot, especially the moments with patients that she experienced firsthand. In her book, she details the many challenges that surgeons face and the responsibility they have to their patients, but one particularly moving episode is when she was pregnant and suffered a hemorrhage during surgery. Despite the fact that the bleeding endangered the life of her unborn child, Chen prioritized the life of her patient on the operating table. Only after saving her patient’s life did she seek medical attention for herself, and fortunately, she and her twin daughters were able to survive. This incident demonstrates her responsibility and passion as a doctor.
Pauline Chen shows that the profession of a doctor is not just about technical competence; she is sacrificial enough to prioritize her patients’ lives over her own, which is the true attitude of a doctor. For many female medical students and young doctors, she has become a role model, not simply because of her success story, but because of her humanity, her warmth, and the dedication that comes from being a doctor.
Being a successful Asian woman in the U.S. is not easy, but Chen’s story shows that with persistent hard work and passion, anyone can become a true doctor dedicated to serving their patients. She doesn’t just teach medical skills, she teaches future doctors about the dignity of life and their responsibility to their patients. Pauline Chen reminds us of the definition of a true doctor, and there is no doubt that she is one.
