Reflections on Humanitarianism
Lately, I have been reflecting on humanitarianism. In light of the exploding interest of medical students and residents in global health, I would like to highlight a surgeon who has made a substantial impact in this area - specifically in international surgery.
Every year, the American College of Surgeons calls for nominations for The ACS/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Award. The purpose is to "recognize and celebrate ACS Fellows and members whose altruism, vision, leadership and dedication provide models to emulate and whose contributions have made a lasting difference." This year, I nominated IASA Officer Dinesh Vyas, MD, FACS. Please read about Dr. Vyas's accomplishments below.
"This letter serves as a nomination for Dinesh Vyas, MD, FACS to receive the ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award. As the founder of the organization Million Mission Life Fighters (MMLF), he has trained over 10,000 Tier 1 individuals (bystanders on the scene of a trauma; Prehospital Trauma Care Sytems, WHO) in prehospital first response, substantially contributing to prehospital care system development in India since 2003.
"It is well known that emergency pre-hospital response programs are sorely lacking in the developing world. Further, the overwhelming majority of humanitarian efforts involve pre-established hospital systems and shorter mission oriented trips. The lifetime humanitarian work of Dr. Vyas has been to equip first responders – the lay people in the community who first witness the trauma – to deliver appropriate measures to help stability patients before emergency medical service arrives. This type of training helps the injury victim arrive to the care facility alive in order to receive life sustaining treatment.
"The number of traffic deaths occurring every day is in excess of three thousand, which translates to over 1.3 million deaths per year globally, with another 20-50 million sustaining permanent injuries or disabilities. Use of Tier 1 individuals has great implications on prehospital morbidity and mortality outcomes as it has been roughly estimated that some 50–75% of the world’s people live in areas with no access to formal EMS. The Association for Safe International Road Travel predicts road traffic injuries to become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2030, unless serious action is taken and changes are made. Road trauma and mortality in the developing world carries enormous liability, leading to countless preventable deaths and DALYs with every passing minute.
"Through MMLF, Dr. Vyas has trained over 10,000 first responders and has validated one of the fastest growing dynamic educational platforms to help address today’s global trauma crisis. Through the advent of a novel four-tier training scheme, integrating technology and virtual interfaces with hands on training, MMLF has effectively transcended the barriers of conventional trauma training and made it accessible to the lay population, by prioritizing lay person language, accessibility, cost-effectiveness and high-fidelity simulation training. Dr. Dinesh Vyas and his team have established multiple self-sustainable training centers throughout India and have generated capable first-responders from both medical and non-medical backgrounds. This program was successfully implemented in a pilot study with a police population in Jodhpur, India and increased competency in trauma skills. MMLF has been implemented in 15 centers globally and is currently taught in 5 different languages.
"The unmet need - and therefore boldest aim - of this program is to train potential first responders in students attending the national school system. A pilot study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and cognitive value of this program in school children. It is the first of its kind to assist large scale, national efforts to train first responders in a systematic and sustainable way. Over 5 years, this trauma skills education program aims to educate 1 million school children, keeping mind that with a population of 1.3 billion, roughly 10 million trained first responders are necessary to support the growing population and infrastructure."
"Dr. Vyas received his surgical training from Washington University School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Case Western Reserve University, and Birmingham University (UK). Originally from Rajasthan, India, his passion for surgical volunteerism even as a medical student was exemplary, leading to a large number of students choosing surgery for their careers. He was also medical student clerkship director at Michigan State University, where he developed an innovative monitored self-learning program for the medical school. Currently, Dr. Vyas is Associate Dean of Surgical Research at Texas Tech University, Permian Basin. He has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed articles, 10 book chapters and has been honored as a visiting professor with more than 50 invited talks. He is editor-in-chief of two surgical textbooks, as well as Editor-In-Chief of the American Journal of Robotic Surgery and the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He is the President of the Indian American Surgical Association, a nonprofit organization that encourages surgical volunteerism and humanitarianism with greater than 200 collaborations throughout India."
To me, Dr. Vyas is an altruistic leader whose vision, leadership, and dedication has made - and will will continue to sustainably make a lasting difference in India and beyond. His example is one to truly emulate.
Thank you Dr. Vyas for your passion and innovation!