Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The Hamilton lyrics that resonate with this trauma surgeon

Heena P. Santry, MD
Physician
September 29, 2016
Share
Tweet
Share

Like much of America, my family is obsessed with everything Hamilton. We jammed to the soundtrack all summer. The season culminated with a late August trip to the show which I described on social media as the best day of my life. Seeing the show, the actors, the set, and choreography, come to life with lyrics we had all memorized was such an amazing experience.

I cried.

Part of that was pinching myself that it was actually happening. And the other parts were one particular segment that just cut into my soul when I saw the character of Aaron Burr singing it.

I sobbed.

Let me provide you context. Burr is an orphan who is in love with a married woman. He has decided that with everything he has gone through, all of the losses he has suffered, he is willing to wait for the woman he loves.

As someone who was taught to hate Burr by her high school history teacher who was a Hamilton scholar, this humanization of Aaron Burr was a bit off-putting at first. But the reason I simply could not stop the tears while experiencing the song with all of my senses as the show was not about the forbidden love story behind it, rather is was the commentary on death.

Death doesn’t discriminate

between the sinners

and the saints,

it takes and it takes and it takes

and we keep living anyway.

We rise and we fall

and we break

and we make our mistakes.

These words resonate so strongly with my trauma surgeon’s soul. We provide care indiscriminately, irrespective of race, socio-economic status, mechanism of injury, insurance, etc. And we lose people. Sometimes they arrive lifeless; sometimes our efforts fail. When that happens we are broken. We wonder if we could have done anything differently; did we make a mistake? But we have to go on “living” because there are more patients waiting. Some of them are sinners while others are saints and it doesn’t matter we treat them all the same. Then we wait for the next patient to arrive.

The title of the song is Wait for It.

The Hamilton soundtrack is still more or less played in a continuous loop in my home, in our cars, on my runs. And every time I hear this song I cry. I can’t help it. It simultaneously breaks my heart for all my patients who have died and provides me reason to keep coming back to this very emotionally challenging and physically exhausting profession. I know it was not Lin-Manuel Miranda intent to write this segment of music (the lyrics and the accompaniment which is haunting) for the trauma surgeon in me, but that has been it’s effect, and I am so grateful.

And as for the burnout that is particularly rampant in my specialty, despite the tears from this particular song, the overall experience of seeing the show on Broadway was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I perfect way to spend a weekend off and return to work refreshed and ready to wait for it.

Heena P. Santry is a surgeon who blogs at Hot Heels, Cool Kicks, & a Scalpel.  She can be reached on Twitter @SurgeoninHeels.

Image credit: EQRoy / Shutterstock.com

Prev

3 Dutchmen walked into an eye clinic and the rest is history

September 29, 2016 Kevin 0
…
Next

How Captain Sully inspired this physician

September 29, 2016 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
3 Dutchmen walked into an eye clinic and the rest is history
Next Post >
How Captain Sully inspired this physician

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Heena P. Santry, MD

  • Please tell me what a “mommy-friendly” medical career is

    Heena P. Santry, MD
  • A reminder that trauma surgeons are heroes

    Heena P. Santry, MD
  • Getting him a new pair of pants was the least that we could do

    Heena P. Santry, MD

Related Posts

  • A trauma surgeon reflects on the Yale System, 20 years later

    Ara Feinstein, MD, MPH
  • Why is trauma activation so expensive?

    Skeptical Scalpel, MD
  • Why creative endeavors are important for the future surgeon

    Thomas L. Amburn
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • It’s time to invest in trauma-informed ACEs interventions

    Vida Sandoval
  • Trauma: Encountering the past in the present

    Anonymous

More in Physician

  • How pain clinics contribute to societal safety

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why frivolous malpractice lawsuits are costing Americans billions

    Howard Smith, MD
  • How AI helped a veteran feel seen in the U.S. health care system

    David Bittleman, MD
  • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

    Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD
  • Focusing on well-being versus wellness: What it means for physicians (and their patients)

    Kim Downey, PT & Nikolai Blinow & Tonya Caylor, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • How pain clinics contribute to societal safety

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Beyond the surgery: the human side of transplant care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why health care must adopt a harm reduction model

      Dylan Angle | Education
    • Why frivolous malpractice lawsuits are costing Americans billions

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Protecting what matters most: Guarding our NP licenses with integrity

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • How pain clinics contribute to societal safety

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Beyond the surgery: the human side of transplant care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why health care must adopt a harm reduction model

      Dylan Angle | Education
    • Why frivolous malpractice lawsuits are costing Americans billions

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Protecting what matters most: Guarding our NP licenses with integrity

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...