When he was 16 years old, Remy Rabinovich was playing junior ice hockey, and he fractured his femur bone. That was his introduction to the world of orthopaedic surgery. It was the help he received and the care that came along with it that made the good doctor want to pay it forward.
“The relationship I built with my surgeon sparked an interest to one day do the same for young athletes and allow them to get back to sports after sustaining a major trauma,” Dr. Rabinovich tells INLOVE Magazine. “I began following surgeons around in my free time, joining them in the OR – this sealed the decision for me to pursue the specialty. Later on, during my orthopaedic training, being exposed to the complex anatomy of the hand along with the intricacies and details involved in treating that part of the human body, I learned that I wanted to focus my practice in that subspecialty.”
Over the years, Dr. Rabinovich continued to follow his path. He went to Rutgers University – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York – which is where he is practicing.
“Starting my practice as a hand, wrist, and elbow surgeon, I strive to first and foremost bring the highest quality care to my patients and to be there for them when needed most,” he continued. “Completing my orthopaedic training at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City followed by further subspecialty training at the Philadelphia Hand to Shoulder Center, my clinical expertise concentrates on the treatment of both traumatic injuries to the upper extremity as well as degenerative conditions of the hand, wrist, and elbow. I also hold research interests in the development and outcomes of novel surgical techniques to help better treat my patients and advance the field of hand surgery.”
Doing all of this during the COVID-19 pandemic poses a whole other set of obstacles that no one could have predicted prior to 2020. “Taking care of patients during this time has been very challenging,” reveals Dr. Rabinovich. “I feel it is my responsibility as a physician to be there for patients when they need help the most, no matter what the circumstances may be. It is paramount to keep oneself and others safe and protected, taking all precautions and wearing all the necessary personal protective equipment while delivering and not delaying the utmost care to our patients. I can recall an experience where a patient presented to the trauma bay with a part of their hand amputated and their COVID-19 status unknown. Delay in care cannot be afforded in order to expeditiously replant part of the hand and help the patient achieve their optimal chance of a good outcome. It is the primary role of the frontline physician to balance patient care and get to the operating room in a timely manner all the while making sure that oneself, the patient and everybody around is maximally protected from COVID-19 exposure.”
Having recently completed his training, Dr. Rabinovich says that there is not a more rewarding profession than medicine. “Having the ability, the gift, to heal someone and potentially change their entire life is special,” he explained. “Growing up, most people encounter something that life throws at them or a loved one, let it be a condition, disease, or injury. Getting through that experience and the treatment process can ignite a feeling to reciprocate and do the same to help others. I feel that using this internal desire to fuel one’s aspirations of becoming a medical professional can be very powerful. The world that we live in today has quickly realized the importance of healthcare professionals and the strength we have, not only in battling a pandemic but in uniting a nation and helping one another survive. This moment in time is a building block for the next generation of physicians and nurses to come.”
Medicine is a path meant for those who strive to make someone’s life better at a time when they’re at their lowest point. A doctor’s own perseverance along their journey is perhaps the strength that’s needed to help their patients get through the worst of it and come out on top. At the end of the day, a doctor’s job is to help people, and as Dr. Rabinovich points out, there’s no better feeling than that.
Sari Cohen.
Writer: Sari Cohen @thesavvyscribbler
