Dr. Mary Mitsch Interview

Dr. Mary Mitsch  is a nursing professor at Madonna University. Although Mitsch  had not known anyone personally who had cosmetic surgery as a teenager, she believed that, “it is terrible that culture puts pressure on teens and that they can’t be happy with their body image”. The social construction of perfection put too much pressure on teenagers. She feared the surgery could be life threatening if the patient reacted poorly to the anesthesia used. When asked whether the final decision should be made by the teen or the adult, she replied that since they are only teenagers, the adult should be the only one allowed to make the final decision. Mitsch believed that it should stay that way. She felt that self-esteem came from within so the surgery would only provide a momentary boost in self-esteem. She also believed that self-esteem is something that one works for and earns in life; it is not something one can buy. Her opinion on how receiving the surgery could affect a pre-mature body at an early age biologically was that it would cause future problems, and the patients had no idea of knowing what may happen later on in life due to the surgery they had at such an early age. She concluded that depression should be considered a medical reason for thinking about receiving cosmetic surgery (M. Mitsch, personal communication, February 17, 2014).
This interview provided an opinion from a nursing professor which will help with my comparative essay.