Donald D. Trunkey papers

Collection

Identifier: 2015-019

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes a wide array of paper, photographic and electronic media. Correspondence, memos, reports, articles, journals, books and multi-media presentations are included.

Series I: Professional Papers. Here are located materials covering various aspects of his career. Included is a voluminous correspondence of an official nature as well as that concerning his hundreds of published works. Autobiographical and biographical articles, and information about his many slide presentations are in this section. Documentation concerning his military service is here as well, as is his involvement in numerous professional societies.

Series II: Military Medicine. This section deals in more detail his work with the Army and combat trauma medicine in general. There is much on his wartime service in 1991 as chief of surgery with the 50th General Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm against Iraq. His critiques on the lessons learned are here, which changed the way the Army approached combat trauma. He continued to help in this new training approach into the 21st century.

Series III: Trauma and Trauma Care Systems. Here is contained Dr. Trunkey’s work on the theory and practice of trauma care, and the organization of systems to provide it. Included also is the famous Orange County, California study. This study, prompted by an angry denial of his 1979 critique on emergency care, ended up independently confirming his criticisms, and of the need for a new approach to trauma care.

Series IV: Trauma and the Human Body. This section goes into the specifics of trauma and trauma care. Not only of the types of trauma, whether-blunt or penetrating; due to burns, accident, or violence; but also their specific impact on the various parts of the anatomy as well.

Series V: Diagnosis and Therapy. In this series will be found Trunkey’s work not only concerning surgical protocols, but also non-surgical options including fluid resuscitation and computer tomography.

Series VI: History of Medicine. Dr. Trunkey here indulges his love of historical topics in presentations ranging from Lord Nelson to the American Civil War to Presidential assassinations.

Series VII: Photographic Media. A series which provides some photo prints and radiographs; but the bulk of which is comprised of his many slide presentations.

Series VIII: Electronic Media. Herein are contained many of his lectures, presentations, and photo prints in CD and DVD format. These are individually housed in plastic and paper containers.

Series IX: Electronic Media and Bound Volumes. This grouping contains some CD/DVD items which were housed not in individual containers but in plastic pages holding multiple items in a file format. There are bound items as well.

Series X: Artifacts. Located here are a variety of personal items from tobacco pipes to oversize certificates and awards.

Dates

1952-2015
Majority of material found within 1970-2015

Creator

Trunkey, Donald D. (Creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Some materials in this collection may be restricted due to the presence of protected health information (PHI) or other confidential information. Please contact Historical Collections & Archives for more details regarding access.

Conditions Governing Use

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.

Biographical Note

Donald Dean Trunkey was born, raised, and educated in the state of Washington. He graduated with an M.D. from University of Washington in 1963 in the hope of becoming a General Practitioner. He interned under J. Englebert Dunphy at the University of Oregon Medical School, who became his mentor and turned his focus to surgery. When Trunkey was drafted into the Army, Dunphy went to San Francisco to begin one of the first trauma centers. He brought Trunkey in to join him after his service, and also got him a surgical Fellowship in Texas. On his return Trunkey rose to become chief of surgery for San Francisco General Hospital for 8 years. He then came back to Oregon to build a trauma system as Dept. Chairman over the next 15 years. An important interlude saw him as chief of surgery in an army hospital in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. After the chairmanship he returned to teaching and lecturing on a global scale as a Professor and Professor Emeritus.

His varied experiences influenced his thoughts and actions on trauma care. In the Army rampant alcoholism led him to institute A.A. programs. In San Francisco the drug wars of the ‘60s made him both an expert in gunshot wounds, and an advocate for controversial measures like gun control and drug legalization. Work with traffic accident victims led him to lobby for seat-belt and helmet laws. Likewise, exposure to the Texas Burn Unit not only led him to replicate one in San Francisco, but also to research fire-retardant clothing and self-extinguishing cigarettes. His wartime service likewise gave him an up-close look at the current state and problems of combat medicine.

Trunkey’s decades-long involvement with trauma and trauma systems led to new surgical protocols of both invasive and non-operative types; the authorship of hundreds of articles and book chapters; the delivery of innumerable lectures; and participation in over 30 professional organizations.

Awards

Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeon, Washington State University College of Science Distinguished Alumnus Award, Barry Goldwater Service Award, International Society of Surgery Prize, Honorary Membership of the British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine and Honorary Fellowships of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Ireland, Edinburgh, Glasgow, South Africa and Brazil, Medal of the Royal College of Medicine of England and Honorary Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, King Faisal International Prize for Medicine.

Extent

19 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Donald Dean Trunkey, M.D., Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of the Department of Surgery at OHSU, has been described as the "The Father of Organized Trauma Care." His vast experience has ranged from military combat trauma, civilian disaster management, and trauma systems organization, to medical education, history, and space medicine. This collection provides a variety of materials covering his multifaceted career.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into ten series: Series I: Professional Papers; Series II: Military Medicine; Series III: Trauma and Trauma Care Systems; Series IV: Trauma and the Human Body; Series V: Diagnosis and Therapy; Series VI: History of Medicine; Series VII: Photographic Media; Series VIII: Electronic Media; Series IX: Electronic Media and Bound Volumes; and Series X: Artifacts.