From a young age, I wanted a career in medicine. And after watching a tv program that profiled the work of Dr. Joseph Murray*, I knew that reconstructive plastic surgery, with its emphasis on quality of life issues, was my calling. During my years of general surgery and plastic surgery training, and over the 15 years I was in practice, I worked in a wide variety of settings: large academic centers, safety net hospitals in large urban areas, private practice at a small community hospital, and finally at large multispecialty integrated medical group. In addition, I also had the privilege to volunteer my skills in resource limited areas throughout the world.
A few years ago, my interests shifted and I came to the realization that I was more interested in hearing my patient’s stories than in performing another operation. This led me into a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine. I am now working as a fulltime palliative medicine provider in a district hospital in the central coast of California.
Nadine B Semer, MD, MPH, FACS
Recent ‘musings’
“She likes chocolate”, Pulse- voices from the heart of medicine, Nov 2017.
“Awaiting Liver Transplantation”, in Transplantation, July 2015
“We hold the pen, but who writes the story?”, commentary in the American College of Surgeons Surgery News, Oct 2015.
From my experiences overseas, I wrote a book to help non-surgeons understand plastic surgical concepts and techniques (Practical Plastic Surgery for Non-surgeons, www.practicalplasticsurgery.org is its companion website).
I self-published a children’s picture book: Lattie’s Run of Discovery
* the pioneering reconstructive surgeon who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in medicine