Spent most of the day over at Hospital Santa Clara with Dr. Stella Martinez, thoracic surgeon.. Despite having three cases, Dr. Martinez apologized for the paucity of scheduled OR surgeries due to the upcoming religious holidays..  (Despite Bogota’s booming population – this is a familiar scene, repeated around the city – kind of like people putting off surgery until after Christmas..)

Dr. Martinez, in the OR

I’d been warned by several people about Hospital Santa Clara – it’s one of the poorer public facilities, but to be frank, despite the aging exterior, it beat out some of the homegrown facilities I’ve been to.. While it was obviously a less affluent facility; with a campus style layout, no CT scan, and a 1950’s feel; the hospital was clean,  all of the equipment worked, much of it was new – courtesy of a new administration..

Dr. Stella MArtinez, Thoracic surgeon

Dr. Martinez is impressive, both in and out of the operating room – with an extensive resume, and skill set.  She’s currently the Director of the thoracic surgery residency program at Hospital Santa Clara, and she takes resident training seriously.  She’s also interested, and active in research, and maintains a busy surgery practice at several facilities.  There’s a lot more to say about this talented surgeon , but you’ll have to wait to read the rest.