The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma recognizes that a mass casualty event is not just another busy night in an urban trauma center. Most surgeons have little or no background or experience in such circumstances. To fill this gap, the Committee on Trauma has developed this course to help surgeons and “acute care pros” develop the necessary skills, understand the language, and appreciate the structural transformation for effective response to mass casualties in disasters. This program is designed to stimulate thinking about how to become better prepared as individuals, professionals, organizations, and health care systems. It represents a milestone on the path toward readiness, not a destination, and should lead to more clinical involvement in local disaster planning. As surgeons, we must be ever vigilant and ready for not just the isolated surgical emergency that may beset the critically ill or injured, but also for the masses requiring the special skills outlined in this course.
We agree with Louis Pasteur when he said: “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS
Chair, American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma
Update Haiti: Information and Resources
Disaster Session from the 2010 CoT Annual Meeting
For questions or assistance, please call 312-202-5388 or e-mail cotdisaster@facs.org
Photo Credits (top left to bottom right); Oklahoma Tornado, courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • Aftermath, Hurricane Katrina, courtesy of Wikipedia • NewYork City Ghost Towers, courtesy of Sal Sclafani • Oklahoma City, Murrah Building, courtesy of U.S. Army • Hurricane Hugo, courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Revised November 1, 2010