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Medical Spanish

Disaster Medicine

by Tara Peris

The field of disaster medicine is oriented toward providing medical aid in emergency situations. From natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes to man-made chaos stemming from chemical spills and car bombings, the spectrum of trauma is quite broad. In order to be effective, doctors must be able to think on their feet and to draw on a diverse set of trauma skills.

Search and Rescue

Most disaster relief efforts proceed in two main stages. The first phase is oriented toward providing emergency services for the acutely injured. The goal is to find, rescue, and treat as many victims as possible before they succumb to their injuries. The second phase typically targets the spread of disease. As many large-scale disasters leave scores of dead in their wake, a central challenge of disaster medicine pertains to protecting the living people who remain.

Doctors with an interest in disaster medicine can specialize through residency training and additional course work. The scope of the specialty training will depend, in large part, on the degree of interest in working specifically with trauma patients. Thus, it is possible to do an entire residency in trauma surgery or to pursue a trauma subspecialty within the more general field of emergency medicine.

Many people who are interested in disaster medicine pursue study abroad during medical school. This allows them to work in developing countries where health care services are not as established. By working under less-than-optimal circumstances, these doctors gain real world skills while serving the greater good.

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