Volunteerism and Sports Medicine: Where do We Stand?
Volunteerism and Sports Medicine: Where do We Stand?
Abstracts & Commentary
Synopsis: Volunteerism in orthopaedic surgery is an area of great importance, but is underused, especially in the field of sports medicine.
Sources: Derkash RS, Kelly N. The history of Orthopaedics Overseas. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2002;396:30-35; Feagin JA. Volunteering in Africa: An orthopaedic surgeon-pilot flies to Africa to volunteer. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2002;396:43-49; Mooar PA. Experiences as sports coordinator for the Philadelphia county Special Olympics. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2002; 396:50-55.
These 3 articles in a recent issue of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research on volunteerism form a diverse basis of discussion for the practicing orthopaedic surgeon who desires to broaden his or her perspective and experience in helping others. The first paper by Derkash and Kelly discusses the history of orthopaedics overseas and relates the concepts of the program. Initially started by Dr. Allan McElvie as an Orthopaedics Letters Club, members wrote an annual letter about an orthopaedic idea, which in turn was candidly critiqued by peers. This later developed into the Orthopaedic Letters Clubs Overseas Program, which devoted its time to teaching orthopaedics in Third World countries. This then became Orthopaedics Overseas which functions to send orthopaedic surgeons to various Third World countries with limited orthopaedic care. The orthopaedic surgeon functions to work and teach physicians in the participating country. Previous attempts at bringing the Third World physician to the states for training frequently led to frustration on return of the trained physicians to their country of origin. Hence, it has been found more productive and appropriate to send volunteers to train local personnel in the Third World country. Dr. Derkash discusses a gratifying experience in Bhutan, a small Bhuddhist country in the Himalayas that has been one of the more successful programs of Orthopaedic Overseas.
In the second article, Dr. Feagin discusses his own personal experience with volunteering in Africa at Tenwek Hospital. Those of you who know Dr. Feagin will read with interest his personal experience of not only flying to Africa on a solo flight, but also his gratifying experience caring and giving to the people of Africa. Dr. Feagin mixes the nuts and bolts of working in the Tenwek Hospital community with useful advice for any surgeon considering a volunteerism project in a Third World country, not the least of which is prayer before work. He notes a motto "We make a living by what we earn, we make a life by what we give" and notes that, "The joy of service is so simple and complete."
In the third article, Dr. Mooar relates a gargantuan effort and experience in our own country volunteering as the Sports Coordinator for the Philadelphia County Special Olympics. Mooar gives great detail of the needs, logistics, and process of providing preparticipation physicals to Special Olympics participants in the Philadelphia county. Physicals are performed every 3 years en masse (1200 physical examinations at 1 setting). Dr. Mooar describes the many opportunities to volunteer for all of the orthopaedic community, including office staff.
Comment by Robert C. Schenck, Jr., MD
Volunteerism should be an essential component of one’s life activities. The opportunity to give without desiring anything in return is extremely satisfying. Depak Chopra has written many books on this concept of giving as a philosophical starting point for anyone’s life work.1 The above 3 experiences, although different in detail, point to the satisfaction one can receive from giving, that is, volunteering. Working in an academic practice since finishing residency in 1989 has given me tremendous opportunities within my own work to give. In San Antonio at the University of Texas School of Medicine and now in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, I have one clinic a week entirely devoted to the unfunded patient. Although my financial remuneration in academics is not what is seen in private practice, the opportunity to give to those who won’t get care anywhere else is extremely satisfying. Personally, the chance to give to the underprivileged is one reason I have continued in an academic practice. With the continued constraints on time, lower remuneration rates for surgery, and the overall dissatisfaction with the red tape of medicine, orthopaedic surgeons in private practice may find such an opportunity to volunteer overseas or even stateside at a local medical school an activity which brings back the satisfaction of medicine and the opportunity to look at one’s practice or life from a point of greater appreciation.
Dr. Schenck, Deputy Chairman, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, is Associate Editor of Sports Medicine Reports.
Reference
1. Chopra D. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Novato, CA: New World Library; 1994.
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