Physicians From Washington D C

"I reach out to female medical students to come shadow me in clinic and in my operating room. The job description of hip and knee replacement surgery can be pretty physical, which is why I think women can be discouraged from going into it. But I’m 5’8’’. I’m not a large individual. And I want female medical students to see that if I can do the surgery, they can do the surgery, too."

"This was completely unheard of, because women represent such a small population of orthopaedic residents in the country. The fact that 50 percent of our class were women that’s beyond unusual."

"We had such a rich environment because we had each other’s support. So we started thinking, how many women are actually going into orthopaedics? Why aren’t we going into academic surgery? And when we are in academics, are we actually growing within the field."

"The data was initially really dishearteningWe always talk about how it seems like there’s not enough women in orthopaedic surgery, but this study really put it into perspective."

"We were able to see the daily environment and how inclusive it was, and I think that’s why we had so many women want to match here that year. When you interviewed at most other orthopaedic programs you had a sense that it was a boy’s club. I can’t tell you the number of programs that asked me Why aren’t you going into pediatrics or OB/GYN?’ Northwestern never asked me that. They asked me and the other women in my class, What do you hope to accomplish in orthopaedic surgery?’ So we had a sense of belonging from the beginning."

"I am fearing because I am seeing that the only way not to be fighting is to die. I am not wanting to die."

"So we were playing all this game then and thinking that to be a soldier was to be the best thing in the world because gun is looking so powerful and men in movie are looking so powerful and strong when they are killing people, but I am knowing now that to be a soldier is only to be weak and not strong, and to have no food to eat and not to eat whatever you want, and also to have people making you do thing that you are not wanting to do and not be doing whatever you are wanting which is what they are doing in movie. But I am only knowing this now because I am soldier now."

"I'm walking walking walking to where the sun is setting. I'm looking at it and wanting to catch it in my hand and to be squeezing until color are dripping out from it forever. That way everywhere it is always dark and nobody is ever having to see any of the terrible thing that is happening in this world."

"And now the woman is praying to God... I am laughing laughing because God is forgetting everybody in this country."

"I feel that the recent ruling of the United States Army and Navy regarding the refusal of colored blood donors is an indefensible one from any point of view. As you know, there is no scientific basis for the separation of the bloods of different races except on the basis of the individual blood types or groups.(1942)"

"The strongest thing I do is that I take people on clown trips....And I give them a bunch of clown clothes, and I take them places where people are suffering, and everyone becomes a player. And it's usually instantaneous....We've taken clowns into war, into refugee camps....We start with simple things: blowing up a balloon, blowing bubbles, having a puppet. But it isn't long before they see that the world of play is a gigantic universe...Because it isn't just about play; it's about opening up your life and your being and your ability to connect with people...play connects you instantly with anyone in the world, without language."

"I go to hospitals that have no medicine. You see pain relief in people who haven't had a second of pain relief in months. You see mothers laughing with their dying child. You see hospitals come alive, dancing in the hallways. Food fights! Life! How can anyone convince anybody that life occurred where there was not play?"

"I think that the loss of the house call has been the biggest blow to the art of medicine in this century. Not only has the patient lost this precious attention, but the physician has not found a replacement for the lost intimacy."

"Take a close look at the part that "love" plays in your life. Make an inventory of love: people, things, ideas, experiences. Try to live your gratitude."

"I'll give you an example — in Russia most of the hospitals don't have any pain medicine, they don't have any money. So if you're with kids with cancer, they can have metastases to the bone; which some say is the worst pain a human can experience. So a mother can be in a room with a child who hasn't stopped screaming in five months. ...85% of the time I walk in there as a clown they'll stop screaming."

"I have often found that mental patients who are given love, creativity, and community find the peace that they are reaching out for."

"Welcome to my library! Ever since my high school days, books and magazines have been to my mind what friends are in the flesh. Each and every one of these books and articles-- a fraction of the 12,000 volumes that I share my house with-- has contributed to expanding my dream."

"Admitting he never had any religion, he calls a friend his "god" and the love of other people, God's spirit."

"...Patch created the Gesundheit Institute. They operated for twelve years out of their communal home. These were the Institute's policies: 1) No charge, 2) No health insurance reimbursement, 3) No malpractice insurance, 4) 3-to-4 hour initial interview with patient, 5) Home as hospital, 6) Integration of all the healing arts, 7) Integration of medicine with performance arts, arts and crafts, nature, agriculture, education, recreation, and social service; 8) The health of the staff is as important as the health of the patient. Patch, his group of friends, and their staff managed to keep the institute running for twelve years."

"Imagination is an infinite resource that cannot be diminished by overuse or underuse."

"I think my government are fascists. I feel that if we don't change from a society that worships money and power over to one that worships compassion and generosity, there is no hope for human survival this century."

"The medical professionals are a lot more comfortable calling it "depression" than calling it "loneliness.""

"You know, it's always the same. I've clowned in 81 countries. People hunger for love, and clowning is a trick to get love close. As a clown I can do things that people are too frightened of Love to allow you to do."

"Any can do it — BE RADIANT! Make the decision. I want to be an agent of change to a loving world — so I will be radiant."

"People are not their diseases....without touching on the quality of a person's life, their loves, concerns, and fears, we ignore a gigantic area of resource and disease."

"If I plant the idea that you really are a responsible person, that your life and life around you is affected by you, even though you're only one person, life can become very exciting."

"I've tacked up a great statement by Melville, which I don't know by heart, but it's the equivalent of, "If you haven't failed, you haven't tried.""

"I decided that I would only be six qualities: happy, funny, loving, cooperative, creative and thoughtful."

"I dove into the ocean of gratitude and never found the shore."