Countdown to Korea
5 Days
A Little Thank You
I completely forgot to mention the fact that I had a phone interview with Dr. Rhee a couple
of months ago when the research was in its earlier phases. We had a conversation about
trauma systems and he referred me to Dr. Hong Suk-Kyung. So, I am very grateful for all of
his help and support. Afterwards, his assistant, Ms. Vasquez, directed me to Dr. Joseph. I
am also very thankful to her. I couldn’t have done much without their help.
And a thank you to Dr. Joseph and his assistant, Ms. Rodriguez, for letting me bother them.
The Interview
I left my house a bit earlier knowing I would get lost in the hospital since I wasn’t familiar with the offices. So, yes, I did end up getting lost. Luckily, this wonderful lady directed me to the right direction. I headed down the hall that connected the building to the U of A and let me tell you that it was a long corridor. At the end of the hallway, I found the surgery departments. (The trauma surgeons had their very own office, which is pretty cool in my opinion.) While I was waiting for Dr. Joseph, Dr. Rhee came out of his office and then quickly walked out. I had a little celebrity moment, but I hope to talk to him in person when I come back to finish up my research.
Dr. Joseph came in a little while later and we started our discussion of trauma systems. His job consists of being a surgeon as well a teacher, as he works in the U of A. I learned quite a bit, especially since there were a lot of things I didn’t understand. I described my project to him and he informed me that he actually just came back from Korea a couple of weeks ago. He mentioned that, since the trauma system is very primitive in Korea, a lot of Korean doctors are being sent over to UMC to be trained. Also, just as a cool little add on, he came actually came back from Washington D.C. yesterday, as he was talking to the government about providing more funding to trauma research. (As you can see, this is what trauma surgeons are greatly pushing for. Trauma is one of the leading causes of deaths in the U.S. but its on the bottom of the funding list. This is why my project is focused on showing how important trauma systems are.)
I would like to transcribe the whole interview if possible, but here are some of the key points:
Please briefly explain trauma systems and how it works.
-Trauma systems are fairly new; implemented about 40 years ago
-About 40 years ago, a surgeon got into a big accident and realized that no one knew what to do; this is what made hospitals and started ATLS*
What is the most important aspect of the system?
-Teamwork; everybody is important, from the nurses, the technicians, the doctors, etc.
How do you determine which patients to treat first? Do you think this is productive? Is there a way to improve it?
-Medical professionals go through triage* training and have a back up system
Do you believe that there is enough research in trauma? What do you think people should focus on when researching?
-There is not enough research being done; there’s not enough funding
-Trauma changes with the population and needs to be developed over time
Data Notes
-UMC takes in about 4000 trauma cases per year; an average of 20-25 patients per night
-Wait time is non-existent as trauma patients are seen immediately
-When collecting data, they focus on patient information, managerial style, therapeutic, types of surgeries, vital signs, and outcome
-Collecting data is very costly and requires a lot of work; with more funds, they can dedicate more time to do so
Vocabulary
I just realized that there are some jargon that I haven’t explained yet...
Triage - This is when a medical professional assesses your problems and determines how serious it is. (This can be done by asking questions or looking around the environment. In an emergency room, a nurse brings you back and asks you a couple of questions. In the case an ambulance is called, triage starts as soon as a medic steps out of the ambulance and starts looking around at the scene.)
ATLS - Advanced Trauma Life Support
Trauma Red - A patient must be seen by an attending immediately
Trauma White - A patient must be seen by an attending within the hour
Interesting Fact of the Day
“In early Asian civilizations, the practice of medicine by physicians was particularly advanced for the time, with surgical techniques in India including the removal of tumors, bladder stones, and even cataracts. Chinese physicians even had knowledge of using many different herbal, mineral, and animal products for treatments of diseases.”
*Obtained from facts.randomhistory.com