A few weeks ago, I was invited to address University of Utah medical students during their noon-time institute class.  Memories flooded back of the challenges I faced during those important years of learning and training.  I recalled my bishop at the time, Christopher G. Jackson, M.D., rheumatology, visiting with me about the challenges of balance.  He acknowledged the enormous challenge of balancing family, church, and profession.  He stated that often he felt pretty good about two of the three areas but then worried about neglecting the third.  He wondered if he ever had all three (family, church and profession) in balance at one time.

I shared with these wonderful students titles of articles found in the library of Collegium Journals from the past.  The articles deal with the elusive balance we seek.  For Example: “The Star Physician”, Russell M. Nelson, M.D.: “Challenges of the Faithful Physician, Cecil O. Samuelson, Jr., M.D.; “Balancing Family, Community, Church and Profession”, James L. Parkin; “Stress in the Mormon Medical Marriage”, Dantzel Nelson; and “Address to the Collegium Aesculapium”, President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Many students visited with me afterwards.  They were excited and interested in what Collegium Aesculapium has to offer.  They wanted to read these articles.  One student told me of how he spent the weekend trying to study for exams, while spending time with his family.  He felt overwhelmed, when the clothes dryer went out and he had to spend time he did not have fixing it.  I felt great sympathy for him and the other students and residents who courageously face the challenges of medical training.

The recognition by the members of Collegium of these challenges and discussion and suggestions of how to face them is part of what drew me to the Collegium Aesculapium, when I was a student.  We have much to offer.  My hope is that each of us would share the experience and knowledge we have acquired to bless others.  Let us share especially with the students and residents, who are the bright future of tomorrow. 

Glen Morrell, M.D.

Service opportunities for Collegium Members

In the November 2008 newsletter, Collegium Aesculapium announced a new Humanitarian Services opportunity program to connect its members with the needs of mission medical advisors.  The first request came in not long after that from Mongolia and a letter was sent to members matching the requested criteria for orthopedics.

“January 27,2009

Dear Fellow Collegium Aesculapium Member:

In keeping with our new Collegium humanitarian effort to reach out for opportunities to serve, we have sent out letters to all foreign area and mission medical advisors to look for opportunities that our members can participate in by mentoring, teaching, and serving local physicians in some way. This opportunity is not unlike our service to the CUNORI medical school in Guatemala but it will give us a broader scope and on a more individual basis. We have received our first response and request!

The request is for an orthopedic surgeon to assist a fellow orthopedist in Mongolia by teaching arthroscopy and I would presume other aspects of surgery as well. Here is the letter I received from Dr. Anderson, who is serving as mission medical advisor in Mongolia:

‘Susan,
I am serving as the mission physician in Mongolia.  There is a big need here and many U.S. physicians have already come to Mongolian and helped in training physicians.  The Swanson foundation in Odgen, Utah has done much in the way of training and providing equipment to Mongolian physicians.  Many local physicians here are eager to learn and ready to be helped.
I am writing to you because I am not connected with the Swanson foundation but we are teaching English to an orthopedic surgeon who is experienced and would love to learn more, especially arthroscopic surgery.  Over the year that we have been teaching him, he has improved his English greatly. He has been useful to us in the mission in taking care of some of the injuries the missionaries have had.  If there was an orthopedic surgeon in your group who would be interested in helping Dr. Bayankhuu (his name means rich son but he points out that he is not rich) we would love and he would love it. He is a cheerful, funny man. It would be fun to help him.
Tim Anderson M.D.’
These opportunities to serve would be at your own discretion and expense. I am serving as the contact point initially for these requests. Please help fill this need if you are not able to serve, by communicating it to other LDS orthopedic surgeons you may know. I would appreciate receiving a reply when you receive this letter so that I will know it reached you.    Thank you for consideration of this request!

With best regards, Susan Puls M.D.   Humanitarian Services Committee Chair & Secretary for Collegium Aesculapium”

Within days Susan received three offers to fulfill this request.  One response was as follows:

"Elder Anderson,  Thank you for your very informative letter.  It certainly sounds like there is a great need for orthopedic training in Mongolia.

To let you know something about me, I attended the University of Utah Medical School, and then completed my orthopedic residency training at the University of Utah.  I then did a sports medicine/arthroscopy fellowship . . . I enjoy doing orthopedic volunteer work overseas.  I volunteer with an organization . . . with the subgroup being Orthopedics Overseas.  I have completed several volunteer assignments, my last assignment being in Bhutan for 1 month.  I usually teach arthroscopic surgery, since this is my area of interest.  I am also a site director for another organization in Peru, and have spoken at the Peruvian Arthroscopy Association meetings on two occasions. We have also been successful in updating the arthroscopy equipment at several Peruvian hospitals.
After reading your e-mail, I agree that it may make more sense to have Dr. Bayankhuu visit the US first and receive some training before having an arthroscopist visit him in Mongolia.  If I were his host, I would have him observe some of my arthroscopies, then have him practice some arthroscopic techniques in a mock knee, then have him go to a lab (we have one nearby our hospital) to practice arthroscopies in cadavers. Closely following his US visit would be a visit to Mongolia by either me or one of the other orthopedic volunteers for further training.  I have hosted several doctors from Peru in my home and at my hospital for such a training program.  I think they all felt it was very worthwhile.  I would be happy to host Dr. Bayankhuu if you think he would be interested in such a program.  I may even be able to identify some philanthropists who could help defray the cost of his visit.   Let me know how you would like me to proceed. . .”

Others of you have also offered to spend up to three months in Mongolia to provide training.  Thank you for your support, service and philanthropy.  Below is another request for Humanitarian Medical Service.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are partnering with the U.S. Navy in their Continuing Promise goodwill medical training mission. The USNS Comfort is a full service medical hospital ship and will serve as the home to Continuing Promise 2009. It will provide full service medical care both on board ship and in local communities as it travels to seven countries in the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Over 5,000 surgeries will be performed during the four month mission. The deployment extends from 1 April, 2009 to 31 July, 2009.

They are in need of a general adult/pediatric surgeon and nurses. Nursing needs include everything from ward nursing, critical care, recovery, OR nurses, etc. The minimum deployment is 3-4 weeks to one month. The Health Support Services section of Welfare Services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will cover the cost of transportation to and from the ship. Housing and food will be covered by the U.S. Navy with housing typically aboard the ship.

We realize that this is a huge time commitment. However, the time parameters were set by the Commander of the USNS Comfort. If you want to learn more re: the ship and the mission, please go to www.comfort.navy.mil. By participating in this mission, you would have the opportunity to serve the poor and needy of these countries.

If you have an interest in participating in this program, please contact me as soon as possible.

Regards, Susan Puls M.D.   Pulssu@ldschurch.org”