UM professor and vascular surgeon Michael Jacobs looks back on his career of 40 years
The surgeon who, defeated, leaves the operating room after hours of surgery, to tell the relatives that, unfortunately, the patient did not make it. This role, which most people only know from films and TV series, was one that vascular surgeon Michael Jacobs had to play more often in his career than he cared for. He never thought that he would also be assigned the role of patient. “All I thought was: I'm in the wrong movie. But I learned so much from it.” As he reaches the age of 67, he reflects on the 'four lives' he has had. And the fifth, which is about to begin.
“Go and enjoy your retirement while you still can,” is something he often hears from the people around him. But in a conversation with vascular surgeon Prof. Dr. Michael Jacobs, it quickly becomes clear that, to him, enjoyment is equal to getting things done. He has an impressive list of achievements. Yet he does not call himself ambitious. “Active,” he says, laughing.
This news article is only available in Dutch.
Prof. dr. Michael Jacobs is Professor of “General Surgery” in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. For years, he was the medical director of the Heart and Vascular Centre (HVC) at Maastricht UMC+. After a career of 40 years, he is retiring.
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