AAST Tuesday Cutting Newsletter
Editor's Note
Written By: Dr. Shannon M. Foster
Friends and Colleagues:
Welcome to the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the 7th World Trauma Congress! 83 years of growth, evolution, and defining who we are as a specialty and who we are as an organization. And who are we? A membership group both young and old, from across the nation and abroad, at the beginning, middle and end of storied careers, with myriad interests and goals who all CHOOSE to come together on behalf of acute care surgeons and patients. And the even more necessary: non-member guests and attendees from domestic and international homes who CHOOSE this meeting to learn and engage. Oh yes - It is a choice. With specialty organizations ever-expanding and actively competing for funds and professional niches, the time and commitment to travel and attend a meeting in person is a vote of confidence, a vote of relevance, and a confirmation of impact.
And impact this meeting will have! Keynote lectures, breaking research, advanced skills training, candid panels, and intimate small-group, high-yield lunch and education sessions all designed to question, enlighten, and expand. In fact, look again at the agenda and be sure to fill your plate - there is still time to join these cannot miss events – see the add on session registration details below to prevent FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)!
The Cutting Edge newsletters will focus on bringing the meeting to life as both a preview and recap of sessions and events for the day of/next day with a focus on meeting the people behind the podium. Look for interviews, announcements, and ways to participate (both physically in LV and remotely) in these daily editions.
Additionally, I use the privilege of the pen to bring your attention to a new project announced from the Editorial Team of Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open, the AAST Education Committee, and the Trauma Survivors Network: The Patient Education Series: Understanding Trauma and Emergency Surgery Conditions. See the launch article below from Drs. Dilday and Hendershot. A journal truly reaching the end target audience for the first time – the patient. Consider volunteering to help this effort.
One last thing – while we all have established relationships that thrive at conferences (that draw us to them!) – I implore each of you to seek out new faces, new names, and those whom your path has never crossed before. That is how inclusion happens. That is the welcoming that gives belonging.
And that is what will allow the AAST to continue to grow.
Thank you for your choice!
Viva Las Vegas 😊
SMF
shannonfostermd@gmail.com
President's Address:Interview of Dr. Patrick Reilly
Written By: Dr. Julia Coleman
SESSION IV: PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
"BE ALL YOU CAN BE"
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 at 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
A much anticipated part of the annual meeting program is the Presidential Address, and a preview of the title of the talk alone is promising that this year will not disappoint. This year, the AAST President Dr. Patrick Reilly will deliver his address entitled “Be All You Can Be” on Wednesday, September 11th at 12:15. In anticipation of the annual meeting and this address, Dr. Reilly spent some time with the AAST Communications Committee previewing his talk and discussing his thoughts about the evolution of acute care surgery.
Dr. Reilly went to medical school at Jefferson Medical College, followed by residency at Medical Center of Delaware and then fellowship at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, the last of which has been his home for the majority of his 30-year career. Dr. Reilly is currently the C. William Schwab Professor in the Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, having served as the Division Chief and fellowship Program Director in the preceding years. Dr. Reilly has been a leader not just within his institution but also nationally in the Committee on Trauma and AAST. Residents, fellows, and early-career surgeons might wonder when they see Dr. Reilly on the podium, how did such a leader get to where he is? When you ask Dr. Reilly this question, his answer is simple – “In the most simple form - I raised my hand.” Dr. Reilly’s path is testament to the impact of showing up and contributing, which he emphasizes as the keys to success. His leadership path, sparked by the encouragement of his mentors, started by working in committees, organizing workshops, and applying principles in his local leadership development and passion towards surgical education as a program director. These paths, fueled by his passion and paired to his engagement, ultimately led to an ascension of leadership positions culminating in his Presidential position. This story line has been true for him, and many others in the AAST with diverse interests. According to Dr. Reilly, “There’s lots of ways to find your passion, share it with others in the organization, and build on that to be lucky enough to end up in the role of President in the AAST.”
This is the core spirit of his upcoming address, where he will also talk about the importance of the acute care surgeon and defining our field in a dynamic time in health care. From serving in a variety of leadership positions institutionally and nationally, Dr. Reilly has had a front seat to observing and leading the changes in acute care surgery, as the field has expanded beyond trauma to emergency general surgery and intensive care. This expansion seems appropriate when one considers all the acute care surgeon does in the hospital. According to Dr. Reilly, “It has dawned on me over time in administration roles that sometimes the people in charge have gaps of knowing what’s going on in the hospital, especially on nights, weekends, and holidays…“Trauma surgeons have a unique place clinically in the hospital that helps them to know everything from the prehospital providers and care to the rehab of our patients after hospitalization”. This insight leaves acute care surgeons well poised to be in positions of leadership in hospitals and to advocate for our patients “from the front door to the back door” with our unique perspective with “boots on the ground” in the hospital. The experience and knowledge that is required to excel as an acute care surgeon certainly lends to strong leadership skills, which are direly needed in leadership in surgical education, research, and advocacy. Dr. Reilly does not that hospital systems are slowly starting to recognize this as well. “Everyone in the hospital values the role that the acute care surgery team brings. Now all of a sudden, hospitals within health systems that aren’t even trauma centers wants emergency general surgery and critical care.” The greatest opportunity and also challenge in the future of acute care surgery will be founded on our specialty’s ability to adapt and change to rise to the challenge of all that is expected from acute care surgeons. This is certainly true when considering the vitality of the work force when there is increasing hesitancy in surgeons as whole to do emergency surgery and take overnight call. “There’s a big void. We will have to struggle with the question is do we want to be the emergency general surgeon for all patients, while also doing critical care, at non-trauma centers.”
Due to his extensive experience in surgical education and leadership, Dr. Reilly has a valuable perspective for early career surgeons and trainees. He believes in the value and importance of pursuing opportunities locally and nationally. “Finding your way in your own institution is really important. Our national societies values us, but we also need to knock down the old ivy towers at our own institutions.” And what does this look like? Part of it is getting involved in AAST, an opportunity that wasn’t afforded to all surgeons and trainees years ago. Dr. Reilly reflected, “When I started, you couldn’t get into AAST. It was a senior trauma academic society…now we’ve evolved with the Associate Member group including trainees and junior faculty to get them involved.” He described how the “new enthusiasm and ideas” has added great value to the organization. Beyond getting involved in AAST, Dr. Reilly’s advice to early-career surgeons and trainees is to stay consistent and follow through: “From an academic standpoint, presentations are great, but publications are the currency of academia and promotion.”
In closing, when you ask Dr. Reilly what he is most proud of, the answer is swift: “The fellows I trained…to be involved in the training of so many excellent surgeons and emergency medicine doctors doing surgical critical care.” Dr. Reilly clearly has the philosophy that his success if other people’s success – this has permeated into his work in the AAST as President and in the other organizations where he has been influential. His Presidential Address “Be All You Can Be” will likely include an audience of his trainees and those who have been impacted by him – but even for those who have not heard him speak yet, it will be one to remember.
7th World Trauma Congress Keynote Address: Interview of Dr. Yasuhiro Otomo
Written By: Martha Godfrey, MD, MS
SESSION II: 7TH WORLD TRAUMA CONGRESS KEYNOTE ADDRESS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
The World Trauma Congress and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) are honored to have Dr. Otomo share his wisdom about disaster preparedness and deployment of physicians in Japan after natural catastrophes. As the Director of the Disaster Center Hospital in Japan he has played a vital role in the response to multiple natural disasters and has been instrumental in improving the response of an entire country to traumatic injury.
I had the opportunity to interview him and learn more about his fascinating career helping others. Dr. Otomo’s guiding principle “has always been whether my actions benefit society. I have never acted for my own benefit.” This is very clear in his life story as he has worked tirelessly in his career to not simply help individual patients, but rather to help an entire population after tragedy strikes.
Like many of us he began his career in medicine simply to help others. For him however he saw a new type of war in Japan that played a pivotal role in his life and his career. Dr. Otomo described a ‘war state’ however it was caused by automobile accidents with unprecedented fatalities and termed a “traffic war”. He explained, “in 1970, Japan saw 16,765 fatalities from traffic accidents in a single year, a number nearly equivalent to the 17,282 deaths over two years in the First Sino-Japanese War”. At the time there was no system in place to treat trauma victims which undoubtedly played a significant role in the death toll. In response to the massive number of trauma victims the country invested in new programs like the first Advanced Emergency Medical Center at the Nippon Medical School where Dr. Otomo graduated in 1984.
This launched his career in Acute Medicine.
It was another tragedy however that truly solidified his dedication to disaster medicine. On January 17, 1995 at 5:46am the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, commonly known as the Kobe Earthquake hit. The earthquake resulted in the loss of more than 6,400 lives and caused an estimated $100 billion in damages. That same year Dr. Otomo began working at the newly established National Disaster Medical Center. The earthquake’s impact on Japan was profound and for Dr. Otomo “marked the beginning of [his] full-fledged commitment to disaster medicine." After the earthquake it became clear “to prevent avoidable disaster-related deaths, it was crucial to quickly enter disaster-stricken areas, provide life-saving emergency care, and transport severely injured patients to facilities outside the disaster zone.” It is because of this that the Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), a specialized medical team designed specifically for this purpose, was formed. Dr. Otomo was instrumental in creating the Japan DMAT and considers it one of his greatest achievements.
The Japan DMAT has “become an indispensable entity in the Japanese government's health crisis management.” The Japan DMAT has responded to numerous earthquakes and floods with phenomenal results, however one of its most recent successes was its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic the “Japan DMAT played a crucial role in supporting hundreds of medical institutions and elderly care facilities…significantly contributing to the containment of the virus and saving countless lives.” Having recognized the substantial success of the Japan DMAT, the Japanese government has expanded its responsibilities to include not just natural disasters, but also to now encompass all health crisis management. Dr. Otomo is very proud of the work performed by the Japan DMAT and more importantly of the numerous lives saved.
Another of his remarkable achievements was when he joined Tokyo Medical and Dental University in 2006 and revitalized the underperforming emergency department, transforming it into a highly active Advanced Emergency Medical Center. He guided many medical students and residents toward a career in acute medicine and surgery. The Department of Acute Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, which started with seven members, grew to 102, becoming one of the most active departments of acute care surgery in Japan by the time he retired from the university in 2023.
Dr. Otomo continues to be focused on the future of Acute Care Surgery in Japan. One of the biggest challenges for him during most of his career was the lack of an “academic organization specifically for trauma surgeons in Japan.” Other organizations like the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine established in 1973 and the Japanese Society for the Surgery of Trauma established in 1987 are multidisciplinary in nature and as such are not designed to meet the specific needs of trauma surgeons. It was not until 2009 that the Japanese Society for Acute Care Surgery (JSACS), equivalent to the AAST in the United States, was established. This organization is critical to the future of Acute Care Surgery in Japan. It is actively working toward the creation of an Acute Care Surgeon subspecialty recognized by the Japan Surgical Society. Dr. Otomo believes that “producing a large number of competent Acute Care Surgeons in Japan will not only improve the level of trauma and emergency surgery care in the country but also contribute to the overall improvement of surgeons’ working conditions. Ultimately, this will contribute to protecting the lives of the entire population."