Rob Brophy combines his sharp intellect, acute sense of responsibility and great personal warmth with athletic accomplishments and deep business acumen.
By Gila Z. Reckess
May 18, 2001
When Rob Brophy started his clinical rotation in orthopaedic surgery during his final year of medical school, his reputation preceded him.
Brophy already was known not only for his academic excellence, but also for his diverse talents, wrapped in a modest and unassuming demeanor.
Rob Brophy combines his sharp intellect, acute sense of responsibility and great personal warmth with athletic accomplishments and deep business acumen. |
According to one of his mentors, Ken Yamaguchi, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, Brophy somehow managed to exceed these expectations.
"He was everything you want in a medical student --he's bright, caring and compassionate," Yamaguchi said. "But he also is a team player, eager to get in the trenches and do the hard work."
As Brophy is quick to point out, talent, skill and motivation are not rare among his classmates. But according to Leslie E. Kahl, M.D., associate dean for student affairs, the breadth and diversity of Brophy's past and current involvements make him stand out from the rest.
Indeed, Brophy is not your average medical student. As a Stanford University undergraduate, he earned degrees in electrical engineering and economics while playing on the highly competitive soccer team. He then enrolled in the school's master's degree program in industrial engineering, well on his way to a career in the high-tech industry.
As a graduate student, he went to live with his uncle, a physician, and his aunt, a physical therapist, who were coping with the complications of their premature newborn. Helping them inspired Brophy to consider medicine.
And so, after five years of engineering training, Brophy changed gears and managed to fit in extra biology and chemistry classes while working as a teaching assistant.
After completing his master's degree, Brophy spent two years test-driving the life he would otherwise have led by working for Cornerstone Research as a business consultant. The sojourn in the business arena solidified his dreams of becoming a doctor.
"It was a great experience to be able to sample what I would have done if I continued down my original path," Brophy said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have known what I was walking away from."
He also managed to weave into his schedule a stint as a professional soccer-player, helping his team win a national minor-league championship in 1996.
Once at the School of Medicine, he continued to keep himself busy. He reluctantly hung up his cleats but remained physically active and started writing for an online sports site.
At school, he tackled his coursework with the refreshed zeal of someone who just discovered the world of medicine, and he sampled a diverse mix of academic research opportunities in pursuit of a worthy specialty. These efforts earned him several academic awards.
He also continued to experiment with his interest in health-care information technology.
"Rob's contributions to public- and private-sector medical informatics initiatives round out his exemplary academic performance at Washington University," said Mark Frisse, M.D., former director of the Bernard Becker Medical Library and now chief medical officer at Express Scripts Inc.
Brophy even spent his only free summer --in between preparations for his wedding to wife Jen, now a teacher in Hazelwood --helping develop electronic medical-record software at Oceania, a company in Palo Alto, Calif.
"Not only does Rob bring to medicine a sharp intellect, incredible sense of responsibility and great personal warmth, but he compliments these with athletic accomplishments, a keen business sense and a loving marriage," Kahl said. "He has wonderful balance in his life."
Ultimately, though, his original hunch sparked in gross anatomy class was right --he was destined to be a surgeon. And with interests in sports and engineering, orthopaedics seemed the perfect fit.
"It's really exciting to work with patients who have acute problems that you can fix," Brophy said. "And both understanding the injury and designing a solution are engineering-type challenges."
Research and clinical rotations in orthopaedic surgery during his final year sealed the envelope. After running a marathon in Idaho as his final "hurrah" before residency, Brophy will go to Cornell University's Hospital for Special Surgery as the first School of Medicine graduate to attend the esteemed program.
"Dr. Clay Semenkovich, an alumnus and faculty member here, told us that medicine is one of the best things you can do with your life," Brophy said. "As I graduate, I now know that's true --this is one of the best decisions I've ever made."
| Medical News |
Washington People |
Calendar | Campus Watch |
Email Us! |
| Sports | WU Home Page |
Record Staff |
Front Page |