Meet Dr. Charlie Rhoades, Orthopedic Surgeon
Orthopedic surgeons like to build things; we reconstruct muscles, bones and ligaments. You get to treat young and old patients and get the opportunity for longitudinal family follow-up. I see children of patients now, patients I treated as children. On the technical side, you get the theater and drama of surgery, which is quite and exciting way to spend the day.
I think patient follow-up and seeing good results after surgery is the most fun. Certainly helping people that have very difficult problems that perhaps you can’t solve completely, but can improve, is very gratifying.
The most important quality of being a good orthopedic surgeon is you have to be a good person first, a good physician second, and a good specialized orthopedic doctor third. If you cut corners on the first two, you won’t succeed in the third.
I have a wonderful team that’s been with me for several years, and they are the first face patients see. We have a team concept and goal where each patient should feel like they’ve been wrapped in loving arms to help them through whatever problem they’re presented with.
The practice of medicine is a privilege and absolute joy. I say with complete honesty when I’m scrubbing in with the residents before surgery, “I can’t believe I get to have this much fun at work.”