Surgery, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care

• Previous message: Autopsy Requests: Scripting & Best Practices
• Next message: Surgery, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]

I have returned to LA after my annual trek to the Medical Mecca, known as 
the Las Vegas, Caesars Palace PGC in "Trauma, Critical Care, Acute Care 
Surgery."  Here in Southern California, we call it the "Mattox".   I prefer 
to have renamed it "Surgery, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care."

Withoiut question, this is the most exacting, focused educational experience 
of my entire year.  It is like drinking from a fire hose.   One cannot miss 
a single lecture, as each has its continuing and practical lessons for 
todays surgical practice.

The overwhelming mood was the move back to what "General Surgery" was 25 
years ago.  The term "Acute Care Surgery" is merely a political attempt to 
reclaim open, "big, bad, surgery."  There was strong sentiment not to create 
a special fellowhip in acute care surgery, but merely reinvent what general 
surgery was for decades.    This course identified many difficult surgical 
challenges in abdominal surgery, thoracic surgery, trauma surgery, surgical 
critical care, vascular surgery, surgical oncology, which should and are 
most frequently managed by the "general surgeon" in most community 
hospitals.   The faculty repeatedly asked the question or concern, "Who will 
take care of me in 10 years when I have a big surgical emergency?"

A second sobering theme was depression which occurs in the critical care or 
disaster sitting.   Dr. Brad Scott also indicated that doctors and nurses 
also get depressed and cited some alarming symptoms which I see often in my 
colleagues here in this up scale hospital.    He stated we must look out to 
not if our colleagues are shoiwing these symptoms and get them to help.

Dr. Asher Hirshberg's two talks were among the best lectures I have ever 
heard on any subject at any conference anywhere in the world.   The first 
talk on "Taking the Plunge, the Crash Laparotomy" was worth the price of the 
course and transportation and hotel to get there.    FANTASTIC.  His 
disaster talk was the most insightful truthful talk I have ever heard on the 
subject.   Every health worker must hear this talk and understand the 
sobering facts that we are NOT ready and NOT engaged.

The entire disaster section was sobering.  The Katrina-18 months later talk 
by Dr. Mattox gave many depressing facts.  I was amazed, surprised, and 
chilled when he stated that with all of the positioning for future 
recognition, there have been increases in public health, governmental, 
authority, funding, EOC, health care, and trauma silos and that we are in 
WORSE state of preparedness than before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

I will return to my Medical Mecca next year.

Mohamed al Malik

_________________________________________________________________
Get a FREE Web site, company branded e-mail and more from Microsoft Office 
Live! http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/mcrssaub0050001411mrt/direct/01/

• Previous message: Autopsy Requests: Scripting & Best Practices
• Next message: Surgery, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]