Donald Dean Trunkey (23 June 19371 May 2019) was an American
trauma surgeon
Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often fel ...
.
Early life
Trunkey was born in 1937 in Washington State. He received a BS in Zoology from
Washington State College
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant univer ...
, where he also played basketball and because of alphabetical sorting was the last person to graduate before the school changed its name to
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
in 1959.
Medical education
He then went to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
for Medical School and graduated in 1963. He interned under J. Englebert Dunphy at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
Medical School, who became his mentor and turned his focus to surgery. He was then drafted into the army and served two years in Germany. He completed his surgical training at
UCSF
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...
and became a faculty member in 1972. As a UCSF faculty member, he was the leader of the trauma service at San Francisco General Hospital. His experience as an academic trauma surgeon led to his authorship of a popular textbook on trauma care in 1983. In 1986 he became the Chief of Surgery at
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a
public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...
. In 2018 he retired to Idaho.
Writings
Trunkey has authored 174 journal articles, 25 books, and about 200 book chapters. In 1978 he starred in an episode of '' Lifeline'' on NBC.
"The critical moment in Don Trunkey's career was when he published a paper in 1979 on death rates of trauma patients in Orange County (Calif.), compared to those in San Francisco County," said Richard Mullins, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery. "That paper was a bombshell. It was one of the earliest, most persuasive pieces of evidence on the effectiveness of trauma centers." Trunkey was, more than any other single person, responsible for the development of sophisticated, state-of-the-art trauma programs in the U.S.
Awards
In 2008 he received the King Faisal prize in medicine for his research improving trauma care. He has many other awards including Distinguished Service Award of the
American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913.American College of Surgeons Online "What is the American College of Surgeons?"/ref>
See also
*American College of Physicians
The American College o ...
, Washington State University College of Science Distinguished Alumnus Award, Barry Goldwater Service Award,
International Society of Surgery
The International Society of Surgery, or the Societe Internationale de Chirurgie, is an international society of surgeons founded in 1902.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
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on ...