Dr. Elwood MacMullin of Sydney, NS, wanted to give back – on an international scale. (View from the operating room at a Guatemala hospital; one of Dr. MacMullin’s recent volunteer surgical missions.)
The responsibility to help the underprivileged isn’t something Dr. Elwood MacMullin, a general surgeon in Sydney, N.S., takes lightly.
“The world is full of people in need of medical and surgical attention but without the means to access them,” he says. “I believe we have a moral and ethical duty to share some of our bounty with the needy of the world.”
His first international medical mission was a six-week trip to a charity hospital in Arusha, Tanzania in 2008, where he provided general, orthopaedic and obstetrical/gynecological procedures for hundreds patients.
“After that, I began to look for other opportunities to do volunteer surgical work,” he says.
Three years ago, he learned about the American College of Surgeons’ “Giving Back” program, which partners with local workers to identify patients in rural parts of Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Haiti who need surgical procedures, then recruits volunteer surgical teams.
Drs. Elwood MacMullin and Rex Dunn with Guatemalan interns.
“In Guatemala, most of the patients are Mayans located in remote rural villages,” says Dr. MacMullin. “They do heavy agricultural labour to support their families, and surgical illnesses (like hernias) make that work difficult, if not impossible.”
The surgeries the volunteers provide can change lives.
The trips require months of preparation and extensive fund-raising. Everything on the trip – from airfare to hospital services to meals for patients – is funded by the volunteer teams.
Dr. MacMullin recruited two surgeons, two anaesthesiologists and eight OR/recovery room nurses to his team. It was vetted by the American College of Surgeons in 2013 and has since made two missions to Guatemala, one in February 2014 (60 patients treated) and a second in February 2015 (almost 100 patients treated). A third mission is scheduled for 2016.
“There are people in need, and they deserve as much compassion and care as any other person,” says Dr. MacMullin. “We have the skills and resources and it is our privilege to be able to share with them.”
Do you know a doctor that goes above and beyond the call of duty to help improve patient care in Nova Scotia?
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Comments
Submitted By: Jennifer Roland
Wow. We are so lucky to have a handful of caring and genuine doctors here in cb. Hopefully one day I’ll be one of those nurses joining a mission. I believe my sister in law was one of the nurses on both missions. I also had the pleasure to perform for one of the fund raisers for the missions. Dr. Elwood also performed emergency surgery on my brother In law recently. And I have been to by the most highly respected medical professionals I know that he is the best. Awesome.
Submitted By: Marilyn. Oursin.
A wonderful Man, a wonderful Doctor. A great asset to his career.Always ready to go above and beyond. Going to be missed severely when he retires.All the best to him, his wife and his family.. Enjoy your retirement!
Submitted By: wayne miller
CONGRATS ON YOUR RETIREMENT! GREAT DOCTOR & SPECIAL PERSON. WE WILL MISS YOUR SPECIAL TALENT. ENJOY YOUR FAMILY!
Submitted By: Cathy mCnEIL
Dr.MacMullin is one of the finest individuals, personally & professionally, I have met in my life. He saved my life several years ago with emergency surgery & I am forever grateful for his compassion and gifted skills! A truly remarkable doctor & humanitarian.Thank you!
Submitted By: Ginny Locke
A truly amazing man and brilliant surgeon! Thank you Dr. Elwood for your many years of caring and compassion. You have gone above and beyond and will surely be missed when you retire. You have shown us all your dedication and willingness to do so much for so many in these challenging medical times. I know you will enjoy your well deserved retirement but I also suspect you will still be helping in the background. You are such a down-to-earth person and I am very proud to have known you for so many years. Thank you again and thank you to your family for their sacrifices.