I am not an author. My only published material has been in orthopaedic technical journals. However, I have always been an avid reader and love to write. This desire was instilled nearly from birth by my mother, a 30 year school librarian in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and my father, an avid reader and history enthusiast.
Although neither of my parents, nor anyone in my family, in fact, was in medicine, I decided to pursue orthopaedic surgery as a career while at the University of Wisconsin. This was primarily due to my love of sports. Since my athletic ability wouldn’t allow a professional football career or a shot at the PGA Tour, I chose a career in sports medicine. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. I then entered the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, graduating in 1987 and staying on for my orthopaedic residency. While there, I was named Chief Administrative Resident in my final year, igniting my desire to lead.
My first true job was with the U.S. Air Force at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Along with taking care of the active duty forces and their dependents, part of our job was to help train the residents at the University of Arizona. I loved this, as teaching has also been something I enjoy. In fact, I was named Teacher of the Year by the Arizona residents during my stay there.
After fulfilling my four year obligation with the military, I entered private practice. I first practiced in Milwaukee with a small group, then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1999. I practiced with a very large group, split off in 2001 with two of my partners to form a small group, and subsequently merged with a different very large group in 2007. (That's a lot of jobs, isn't it? Hmmm . . .)
During this time, I had a chance to be President of our small group. I truly enjoyed leading and developing our team of employees into a cohesive and very team-oriented group. I also had the pleasure of working with orthopaedic residents from the University of North Carolina. I was honored with their Teacher of the Year award as well. Since our merger, I have become somewhat disenchanted with the day to day grind of private practice orthopaedic surgery. I resigned my partnership in the fall of 2009 and am currently working as a contracted orthopaedic hospitalist in various hospitals throughout the East Coast. I have been named Medical Director of the Orthopaedic Hospitalist program in New Bern, North Carolina by the directors of Delphi Healthcare Partners, the company I currently contract with. I am interested in continuing to develop similar programs while I pursue my writing career.
This type of contract work has opened up a significant amount of time in my day to day life. I’ve chosen to use this time to complete a book I’ve thought of for years, but never seemed to have the time to finish. Confessions of a Bonehead is that book. I feel it is a reflection of my personality: honest, forthright, without pretense or false political correctness, and with an obvious jaundiced eye to the inner workings of the unusual business of orthopaedic surgery.
Personally, I have been married to my lovely wife, Lori, for 26 years. We have five children. Kirsten has just graduated from University of North Carolina with a teaching and drama degree, Erik is at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, Alex is a high school star golfer, and our twins, Andrew and Brett, are in freshman in high school and avid soccer players.
