Dr Craig Jurisevic
Cardiothoracic and Trauma Surgeon, Adelaide, South Australia
Craig Jurisevic is a Cardiothoracic and trauma surgeon from Adelaide, South Australia. He is currently a surgeon with the Australian Army having deployed on multiple operations over the past 16 years in East Timor and Afghanistan. More recently he was the Senior Medical Officer with the Australian Army during Operation Bushfire Assist, running a field Role 1 (resuscitation) facility during the 2020 bushfires. Prior to his involvement with the Australian Army he had front-line trauma experience in Israel, Palestine, Albania and Kosovo during conflicts in these regions. His experiences during the Kosovo war of 1999 were published as a novel in 2010. In addition to his cardiothoracic surgical practice he is involved with Trauma surgery unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide. |
Professionalism and Obligations in Trauma Care
From my first involvement in conflict zone trauma in Sabah, Malaysia in 1990, through the conflicts in Israel, Gaza, Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan, I have witnessed trauma medicine and surgery in many forms and iterations. I consider myself extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to witness and participate in the evolution of trauma care in a wide range of conflicts over a long period of time and living to share
these experiences with my colleagues and friends.
As clinicians involved in trauma care, we are not only at the front line of provision of care to the trauma patient, but deeply immersed in the geopolitical and social events that have delivered these patients to us. In conflict zones, regardless of whether we are there in a civilian or military
capacity, by virtue of proximity to the fighting, we are directly involved in these conflicts. We are exposed to the same physical dangers in many cases and face even more ethical dangers in dealing with combatants and civilians in these situations.
In this presentation I hope to convey the complexities of the clinical and ethical/moral decision making processes that arise in conflict zones, and how these have helped shape civilian trauma care as we know it today.
From my first involvement in conflict zone trauma in Sabah, Malaysia in 1990, through the conflicts in Israel, Gaza, Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan, I have witnessed trauma medicine and surgery in many forms and iterations. I consider myself extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to witness and participate in the evolution of trauma care in a wide range of conflicts over a long period of time and living to share
these experiences with my colleagues and friends.
As clinicians involved in trauma care, we are not only at the front line of provision of care to the trauma patient, but deeply immersed in the geopolitical and social events that have delivered these patients to us. In conflict zones, regardless of whether we are there in a civilian or military
capacity, by virtue of proximity to the fighting, we are directly involved in these conflicts. We are exposed to the same physical dangers in many cases and face even more ethical dangers in dealing with combatants and civilians in these situations.
In this presentation I hope to convey the complexities of the clinical and ethical/moral decision making processes that arise in conflict zones, and how these have helped shape civilian trauma care as we know it today.