Physician finds work-life balance 20 feet above ground

When he’s at work, Dr. Edward Zaragoza can be found studying an array of computer screens in an otherwise dimly lit room on the third floor of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, intently focused on images of human bone, organs and tissue as he looks for any anomaly that signals trouble. When he's not at work, Zaragoza might just as easily be found 20 feet above the ground at the Cirque School in West Hollywood, performing balletic acts of aerialist derring-do. “It’s playful,” he said, with a wide grin. “And playfulness is one of the strongest parts of my personality. It’s actually a part of my work ethic.” The sight of Zaragoza performing — shirtless and in Spandex tights — is riveting: syncopated movement of his limbs, torso and head as he sways and cartwheels in midair while hanging onto ribbon-like bands of silk fabric. This delicate midair dance infuses balance in Zaragoza’s life and helps to relieve the stress of his work as clinical director of imaging informatics and chief of acute care imaging. There can indeed be a good deal of daily stress that needs to be relieved. Analyzing the most cryptic of imaging details, he observes anomalies that often have life-or-death implications for patients. Such intensity can be exhausting. “You want to look through the hypotheses of what could be wrong as quickly as possible and do an investigation to determine the one that’s right,” he said. “And then you can set a patient on the path toward treatment....
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news