Recently I had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Kevin Olehnik, an orthopedic surgeon here in Maine, to talk about first aid in the field for broken limbs and some of the volunteer work he’s done in Haiti. (His name is pronounced O-len-nick.)
Dr. Olehnik is the surgeon who put me back together again after I broke my ankle and he’s a cool guy to sit down and chat with. In these videos he discusses some steps you can take for first aid in the field for a broken bone. Here’s some of the interview…
What are some steps we can take for first aid in the field?
What about splinting the injury?
Do you think it’s a good idea to straighten the limb before splinting?
Should we take antibiotics into the field in case of emergency?
Do you see any preparedness deficiencies in this country?
Did you go to Haiti after the earthquake?
Is there anything they can do to be better prepared in Haiti?
If something like the earthquake in Haiti were to happen to a city here on the east coast like New York or Boston, what do you see being different?
Could you tell me a little about the other work you have done in Haiti?
I’d like to thank Dr. Olehnik for taking the time to sit down and talk with me. Thanks Doc!
–Jarhead Survivor
4 comments
Good job!
Good original idea for a blog post. There’s a pretty good bit of natural medicine info floating out there but not so much when it comes to treating injuries in the field and modern medicine.
The doctor made a good point about teaching basic and perhaps even advanced firts aid in all our schools. I graduated from high school 50 years ago and I can see evidence that the quality of education has gone down while the total time children spend in school has gone up slightly. With all those hours our children spend in school wouldn’t it be great if they learned some practical real life things as well as “Heather has two mommies”?
GOOD STUFF JARHEAD! Your doc had a good bit of information in your conversation/interview, as GoneWithTheWind said, the simple act of including some basic first aid courses into our public schools curriculum would benefit, potentially, our entire society! However, not to play to the “big brother is herding us” idea… It does seem that compared to when I graduated High School 10 years ago (GOD I FEEL OLD!) the average student is graduating more “dumbed down”. I know that while I was in Middle School, we were required to take the basic CPR/First Aid class offered by the Red Cross. While I was in High School, there was no such requirement that I know of for all students. However our Football Coach required that all players, trainers and even the “water-boy” obtain their certification. They eventually made it so everyone participating in any sport, even cheerleaders had to get and maintain their CPR/First Aid training. The only thing was, we were the only school in the state that “required” it for people to play. I thought it was a great idea, but the school board didn’t, they shot-it-down a few years after I graduated, someone cried that it was unfair to require it claiming that they couldn’t afford the training (even though the school payed for everything)! Some things just make as much sense as a monkey h*mpin’ a football!