Office Artifacts: Andrea Merrill
Click on the icons above to see more of what Andrea Merrill displays in her School of Medicine office.
Oncology surgeon Andrea Merrill is accustomed to being suited up from head-to-toe as she heads into the operating room. She makes sure she talks to patients before their procedures to calm their nerves and answer questions, but at the same time realizes it’s a very stressful time for them.
So she wears fun surgical hats to help lighten the mood a little.
She has three favorites: one illustrated with the face of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one featuring an image of Wonder Woman, and the third with anatomical illustrations.
“We’re all wearing scrubs in the OR, and most doctors even have the same colored mask on,” says Merrill, a Boston University School of Medicine assistant professor of surgery and a surgical oncologist at Boston Medical Center. “So I like to individualize as much as I can. It’s kind of a talking point. It might help put patients at ease or give them something else to focus on.”
Growing up in Massachusetts, Merrill initially planned to be the first female president, or at least go into a career in law, but “then I read the book A Civil Action [about a water contamination case in Woburn, Mass.],” she says, “and decided there is no justice, and I could not practice law in a world with no justice.”
Even though she eventually landed on medicine (after several sports-related injuries left her sidelined and studying an anatomy book), Merrill has remained an ardent admirer of Ginsburg’s and has some items in her office that are a homage to her, like a scrub hat and a framed judge’s collar. And since she also works in a demanding, male-dominated field, she considers RBG an important role model.
There are several reasons why she loves her chosen field of breast cancer and endocrine surgery, Merrill says. First, she gets to follow patients for some time and help them navigate decisions during a stressful period. Second, she cites the extensive ongoing research, which means that “things are changing almost every day, and you’re always on your toes.” Last, many of the surgeries she does are relatively quick, but can have a dramatic impact on a patient’s life.
“Sometimes I can do a two-hour surgery and cure someone’s cancer,” she says. “And they go home that same day, and they live [out] the rest of their lives.”
In our Office Artifacts series, BU Today highlights interesting artifacts professors and staff display in their offices. Have a suggestion about someone we should profile? Email amlaskow@bu.edu.
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