Becker's Spine Review

12 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP I am confident we continue to attract the best and the brightest to orthopedic surgery. I am excited to see what the future holds! omas Schuler, MD. Founder and CEO of Virginia Spine Institute (Reston): Miraculous! Technological advances are enabling specialists to heal people and restore their lives in ways never possible before now. Minimally invasive surgeries, motion preserving and restoring surgeries, and the use of biologics combined with better knowledge and robotic and AI technologies all enhance the treatments, and thus options, for our patients. It is a wonderful time for people to be able to heal and get on with their lives. n Why spine surgeons should make investing a 2nd 'microcareer' By Claire Wallace P hysicians are up against several financial challenges in 2023, including recession fears and inflation that is ruining savings and retirement plans for many Americans. Thomas Schuler, MD, spine surgeon, founder and CEO at Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute, told Becker's why it is so critical for physicians to learn how to properly invest their earnings to combat rising inflation and declining reimbursements. Dr. Thomas Schuler: Physicians are losing money from many factors, including inflation, declining reimbursements amplified by rising expenses, a flat investment market caused by recession fears and financial indecision. Inflation is the most insidious of losses and eats away at savings and salary. Worsening reimbursements cause a physician to work harder or accept less income. Income loss is compounded by higher business costs, especially in private practice. The turmoil created by the present financial unknown is impairing investment returns, especially for traditional stock market investments. As physicians, we are not typically well trained in investing, and this leads to either some poor investment decisions and/or indecision, causing our saved dollars to receive low yields in bank accounts while inflation eats away at the effective value. A good plan implemented will always outperform the perfect plan never executed! We must take the time to develop a financial plan and then re-evaluate annually to modify as new knowledge dictates. As physicians, we need to spend time learning how to invest and accrue adequate retirement funds so that we can enjoy a happy and healthy result of our substantial financial and personal sacrifices that our chosen career requires. This means that we must spend substantial time educating ourselves in investment matters, just as we did to become knowledgeable physicians. Competent investing becomes a second microcareer that our long- term health and happiness will depend upon. n Spine surgeons on the screen: What entertainment gets right, wrong about the job By Carly Behm T he words "medical drama" make many people think of Grey's Anatomy and its beloved neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd. Many shows on the big and small screens have tried to provide a glimpse into what spine surgeons and neurosurgeons do. Six spine surgeons told Becker's what they do and don't like about seeing their jobs on the big and small screens. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Question: What do television shows and movies get right when depicting spine and neurosurgeons? What do they get wrong? Harel Deutsch, MD. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (Chicago): e best show for neurosurgery is Lenox Hill on Netflix. e show has the most detail and authentic representation of a surgeon's life. Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (Livonia, Mich.): What television shows and movies get right when depicting neurosurgeons is the dedication to their patients and their rigorous pursuit of surgical perfection. ere is great satisfaction in restoring a patient's health particularly under dire circumstances and emergent scenarios. Dealing with life-threatening scenarios is a part of the daily life for neurosurgeons. What television shows and movies do not depict well is the uninspiring moments such as the longevity of training, the emotional and financial hardships during the education and training process, and the unglamorous meetings that most neurosurgeons have to complete. Brian Gantwerker, MD. e Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: One of the most egregious errors was in the Spider-Man sequel. When Doc Ock was under anesthesia and was about to get the arms cut off, they had him first in a Mayfield, and then suddenly a horseshoe. But besides that, there is a tremendous amount of oversimplification when a television or movie character has spinal surgery. We see many neurosurgeons depicted as full of hubris, socially awkward and terse. We are a very heterogeneous group and as a whole, I find us confident, but not cocky, and very acutely aware of the pitfalls of what we do. If I could, I would certainly try to do a more accurate depiction of us as humans, with families, insecurities, who really love what they do. Ali Mesiwala, MD. DISC Sports & Spine Center: Television shows and movies generally do a good job in portraying neurosurgeons and spine surgeons as having exceptionally long and intense training. e biggest issue, however, is that the drama surrounding them is

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