A warning to teachers: This story contains some graphic images.
In recent years, the number of motorized vehicles on the roads in developing countries has skyrocketed, and so have the accidents.
Rick Coughlin, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, is on a mission to improve the care of those who sustain traumatic injuries in the developing world.
For the last four years, Dr. Coughlin has been leading a unique program which brings orthopedic surgeons from low-income countries around the world to San Francisco, to one of the country's leading trauma hospitals, San Francisco General.
Five surgeons from Kenya and Tanzania recently arrived for a week of training and hands-on experience, learning the most up-to-date surgical techniques. The doctors say they will share the techniques and skills they have learned during their week in San Francisco with colleagues back home.
Although this program is admittedly a small step, doctors say they expect training to spread to other surgeons in the developing world.
Quotes
"Anyone who goes to a foreign country, a developing-world country, your fear isn't that you're going to get HIV. Your fear is that you're going to be in a car accident and your leg is going to be exposed, and you're -- you're in trouble now," - Dr. Rick Coughlin.
Warm Up Questions
1. What does the term "developing country" mean?
2. Name three developing countries.
3. Is the United States a developing country? Explain.
Discussion Questions
1. Based on this story, do you think training programs such as this one make a difference? Why or why not?
2. Were you surprised to learn that the global impact of injury in road traffic crashes is more than HIV, T.B., malaria combined? Discuss.
Additional Resources
Lesson Plan: The World at 7 Billion
