Trauma and “joint action”

Trauma

and “Joint

Action”

I. S. RAVDIN, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

is difficuIt to state authoritatively who first conceived the idea of bringing together for united effort those organizations which are concerned with the probIems of trauma, but I believe it was Dr. CharIes G. Johnston of Detroit. Dr. Johnston, who pIayed a major roIe in the formation of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, discussed this matter with me a year or more before joint effort was achieved. Dr. William L. Estes and I discussed it with Dr. PauI HawIey, the director of the American College of Surgeons, and then with the Regents of the American College of Surgeons. The Committee on Trauma of the CoIIege has been for years an important part of the CoIIege, and was as national in its scope as was the CoIIege itseIf. The Regents gave their endorsement to the proposa1 for “joint action.” Dr. HawIey discussed the proposaI with Maj. Gen. George C. Stewart, the executive vice-president of the NationaI Safety CounciI, and he indicated serious interest. The first meeting was arranged for October 1957, in Chicago. The NationaI Safety CounciI has for some years pIayed the major roIe in this country in the probIems associated with the prevention of accidents on the highways and in industry. The Committee on Trauma of the American CoIIege of Surgeons has Iikewise pIayed a major roIe in standardizing the care of patients with fractures, and more recently with the probIems concerned with the aIterations from normal physioIogica1 functions which frequentIy are secondary to trauma in man. The

I

T

American Association for the Surgery of Trauma has successfuhy brought together in a singIe society a11 those seriousIy interested in trauma and its probIems. From such a “wedding” a great deal of good was bound to come, and it has. The “Joint Action Committee” meets at the staff IeveI of its component organizations frequentIy, and once a year the duIy accredited representatives of the organizations meet to strengthen the approach to the probIems of The Joint Committee has already trauma. achieved some major advances, and wiI1, I am sure, strengthen its framework to the end that the severeIy injured patient wiI1 receive the very finest type of care it is now possibIe to give. It has set a spIendid exampIe for a11 of us interested in what can be achieved by united effort. The‘ National Safety CounciI is still concerned with the prevention of accidents. The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the Trauma Committee of the American College of Surgeons have been concerned with the saIvage of those injured. The three organizations working together wiII minimize, we hope, the number of accidents and improve the immediate and later care of those who suffer serious injury following trauma. The effective Iiason now achieved will keep the organizations concerned with joint action, informed beyond any degree previousIy conceived. The important thing is that Iaymen and surgeons can effectiveIy work together for the weIfare of mankind.

End of Symposium

583

Americm

Journal

OJ Surgery,

Volume

98, October,

,939