Description
Get to know Dr. Dagoberto Estevez-Ordonez, a neurosurgeon at UAMS Health. In the Q&A below, Dr. Estevez-Ordonez shares what inspired his work in healthcare, his life outside of medicine, and more.
Questions and Answers
What inspired you to work in healthcare?
I have always been drawn to science, but I also wanted a career centered on helping people. Medicine gave me the opportunity to combine both. Neurosurgery ultimately became the right fit because it allows me to care for patients with very challenging problems while continuing to ask questions through research about how we can make their treatments better.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part is helping patients and their families through what can be one of the most frightening times in their lives. I especially enjoy treating complex brain and skull base tumors, where there may be several different ways to approach the problem. Being able to tailor the treatment to the individual patient and, hopefully, help them get back to their life is extremely rewarding.
What do you like about working at UAMS?
I really enjoy the collaborative environment. Complex brain and skull base tumors often require more than one surgeon or one specialty, and UAMS gives us the opportunity to bring different experts together around the patient. I am also excited to help expand advanced brain tumor and skull base care, clinical research, and new treatment options for patients in Arkansas and the surrounding region.
Who has had the biggest influence on your life, and why?
My family — my wife, my kids, and my parents — have shaped who I am and keep me grounded. Medicine can easily consume your life, and they remind me at the end of the day what matters most.
What book, podcast, TV show, or activity are you enjoying right now, and why?
I enjoy scuba diving whenever I get the opportunity. I am a rescue-certified diver, and I love being underwater. It is completely different from my day-to-day work and is one of the few places where everything else seems to disappear for a while. I also enjoy photography, especially when I travel or dive.
What is one thing on your bucket list?
I would like to dive some of the great sites around the world that I haven’t experienced yet. I will take any suggestions.