WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 - Salisbury Doctor Relates to Olympic Pressures

Salisbury Doctor Relates to Olympic Pressures

08/15/2008 5:55 PM ET

SALISBURY, Md. - Few can imagine the mind set of Olympic stars like Michael Phelps, let alone the pressure put on them.

One man living on the Eastern Shore says he remembers what the pressures of competing on the world stage was like. It has been years since Dr. Emerson Que has competed as a member of the Tae Kwon Do United States Olympic team. 

However, he still uses his Olympic experience to get through some different pressures; this time in the operating room.

The "Big Event" for Dr. Que is surgery in the operating room these days. Gone are the days of competing for Olympic Gold in Tae Kwon Doe. The Salisbury surgeon says with the Olympics in full swing, it has him thinking back.

"When you watch, you kind of get nostalgic.  It brings back good memories to think back, but sometimes you don't want to think about the past," said Dr. Que, now an accomplished LASIK surgeon with almost 9,000 surgeries under his belt.

The surgeon says he still uses what he learned at age 16, when he won a Bronze medal in qualifiers for the 1992 Olympic Games. What he uses is something his staff sees in his eyes, every time he gets into the operating room: focus.

"That's the good thing about martial arts, you're using your mind.  You're trying to be disciplined and regimented and you believe you can do anything with enough training," said Dr. Que about focus, which he added for him, is a switch he flicks on.

For him, at this point, it is mostly memories he has of his days in competition. But his competitive spirit is still alive and well, as he challenges himself to be as good as he can be.

"I'm so busy now with a very rigorous surgery schedule. It's LASIK surgery and cataract surgery, which I think can be very demanding, and I want to be the best at what I can do, and I find it very demanding," Dr. Que said.

Perhaps, besides his focus, what remains of his days as a world-class athlete is a quirk he has while operating.  Many athletes have strange things they do while competing; while conducting surgery, Dr. Que does so without any shoes on.