AAMC Reporter: May 2007

Tricks of the Trade

Most surgeons rely exclusively on the scalpel to open up their patients. But Bruce Averbook, M.D, F.A.C.S., is different. He can penetrate skin and flesh with nothing more than a silk scarf. And while he is at it, he might do some coin tricks, too. As a part-time magician, Averbook is accustomed to using all kinds of devices to get the people around him to open up.

Averbook, a specialist in melanoma and breast cancer surgeries at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said his interest in magic began fortuitously more than 30 years ago. As a child in Los Angeles, a karate injury mandated four weeks of physical therapy. To keep him occupied, his mother gave him a book on magic tricks, and young Bruce was hooked.

"Magic gives people a sense of awe, and takes them out of normal reality," Averbook says.

Through the years, he sharpened his magician skills right along with his clinical ones. Currently, he is the president of the Cleveland chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, a position he has held since 1996. This society meets monthly to perform and discuss magic.

He puts on magic shows for charities, including many cancer-related humanitarian organizations. Averbook also brings magic to the hospital when appropriate.

"On a day-to-day basis, when patients come in, if they have a child with them, a little magic helps quite a bit. It's a good way to relieve anxiety," he explains. Averbook says magic can help hone some of the same skills needed to practice medicine, such as dexterity.

He adds that interpersonal skills are necessary for both connecting to an audience and reassuring surgical patients.

"Magic is a great discussion point," says Averbook. "It's a great icebreaker."

—Elissa Fuchs

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