I'm Bartley Pickron. I'm a colon and rectal surgeon at the University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute.

What inspired you to pursue surgery?

So as far as my choice of surgery for a specialty, it just seemed like the natural fit for me. I enjoy working with my hands. I enjoy the tangible effects of our profession, and it's kind of an instant gratification to see patients get better.

Now, looking at me academically during high school, you would have thought that was possible. But here I am.

What inspired you to pursue your specialty?

I always tell people that we as surgeons don't pick our specialty. The specialty picks us. So I don't really have a great reason as to why I did. I just enjoyed working with my mentors when I was a resident. They were really good at what they did. Their patients were very grateful and had good outcomes, and it seemed like a really good fit for me.

What impact do you hope to have in your field?

The one thing I really hope to achieve is passing on knowledge to others. We have developed a colorectal fellowship here that I'm very proud of with our entire group, and I kind of hope that to be my legacy, passing on the knowledge and training to future surgeons and generations.

How are you contributing to the evolution of your program?

I think the really exciting thing for me is the continued development of minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopy and robotics, and continuing to discover what options and benefits those have for our patients. And they certainly help with patient recovery due to smaller incisions, less operative trauma, and a faster time for recovery, getting back on their feet and living their life and doing the things they enjoy.

What do you do beyond the coat that drives you?

Beyond the coat, my passion is the game of soccer. I grew up playing, I played through my youth, through college, even in adult leagues afterwards. And one of the things I really enjoyed about the game was refereeing. I did that when I was little, from the time I was 14 up until I graduated from medical school, and then I recently got back into it about 6 or 7 years ago. And it's a great thing. It still allows me to be part of the game, even though it's really for younger people to play. I'm still able to get out, run around, keep up with most people, and get a lot of exercise and have fun. Still being part of the game that I love.

One of the things that I love about being a soccer referee that parallels my surgery career is that in addition to being a soccer referee, I'm also a mentor, a coach, and an instructor for younger referees who are trying to develop their skills, which I think parallels a lot with being part of the fellowship here at the University of Utah. And it's interesting that the way that we teach surgery, the way we teach soccer refereeing, there's a lot of similarities, even though the disciplines are quite distinct.

The most challenging thing about being a soccer referee is really player management. There's all sorts of expectations. It's a competitive environment, tempers get hot, and you just have to remind the players to focus on the game.

The most rewarding thing is coming off the field after a good game with your crew and knowing that you've done the game good.

I'm Bartley Pickron, and beyond the coat, I'm a soccer referee.