Wednesday 13.01.21, Theo & I are invited to shoot a part of an “image movie” for the department of neurosurgery at Charité. Theo is a professional filmmaker, while I’m the all-purpose ethnographer. This is an initiative of Prof. Vajkoczy, the charismatic and energetic leader of the team. Inspired by similar promotional videos of Barrow, the world’s most renowned institute for neurosurgery, the Professor intends to attract more of the “right personnalities” to the department. This meeting is usually restricted to the senior surgeons, and we are allowed to attend the first 20 minutes only. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed, although making ironic jokes isn’t easy with the COVID-related obligatory face masks. The space of the meeting is oriented toward two giant monitors, which can be used to review the cases at hand. Prof. Vajkoczy would like to install there a “3D educational lounge” into which the guests and the students could attend the action of the Operation Rooms from the comfort of a seat and while “drinking a cola”. The technician presents the new system (or rather the advance of its lengthy implementation) which allows access from this room to “all the video streams” of the OR, including the microscope. Of course, filming people at work comes with many restrictions, and the workers’ concil already limited the use of ceiling cameras to respect their privacy. Beyond the project of an educational lounge, Prof. Vajkoczy explains that he would like to be able to access at any time the video stream of the microscope from his smartphone – something that should be already within reach, says the technician.
Prof. Vajkoczy, screenshot of the footage for the “image film.” ©Theo Thiesmeier © Maxime Le Calvé
Almost two hours later, the door of the meeting’s room opens again finally. We have been waiting in the office of “the Chef.” The room is nice and simply decorated. Many official certificates testify of the excellence of Prof. Vajkoczy, the leading surgeon of one of the most reputed department world-wide. We shoot a short interview for the image film: “Why is it so good to be working at Charité?” is my first question — “This place is a dream” he tells us. The cases that they are treating there are equally extraordinary and diverse, and they have the best equipment and the best teams to do the work, which is academic research as much as medicine. Attracting the most “talented personalities” in Germany and in Europe makes for an amazing working environment, and Prof. Vajkoczy speaks of growing a “family” of like-minded individuals thriving for excellence, while sticking together and accepting humbly the enormous challenges of the profession. “We go for a trekking trip every year, we climb together a mountain and then go 60 km with bikes, in order to get the team to feel that we all can make it if we stay together.” My questions related to the “act of cutting” is elegantly replied to: “I could make a short answer and tell you: that’s art,” he says with a swiping gesture of the hand. “But actually I’m still investigating on how and why some people have this talent and some others don’t. Knowing this would make it possible to teach better. It would also get me to understand why some of my colleagues are taking less risk than I do, and would help to position myself when I am accused of being too aggressive in the interventions, while I’m pushing the limits of what can be done.” The footage is excellent. It’s past 7pm, Theo and I get our things together to go home. Prof. Vajkoczy would usually go to the operation room — but with COVID, things are more quiet at the moment. We keep in touch — I hope I will get a chance to climb a mountain with the team, that would look great on that “image film”… and on my graphic notebooks.
PS: As a reaction to this post, Peter Vajkoczy generously twitted on our encounter after the meeting – demonstrating very directly how he encourages (and emulates) innovative initiatives within in his team. I did feel proud and (almost) sent the pic to my mom. Thank you Peter!
