VIPS Guidelines for Providing Surgical Care

Updated 3/2017-- all links removed as many are no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.

No this VIPS doesn’t stand for “very important person” or the famous (local or national) person you might care for in your practice.   I think it is best to try to treat everyone with the same standards of care.  Similar to the checklist that Atul Gawande has brought to the public eye, this keeps you from “missing” something or not providing some important aspect of care.  The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine had a nice article by Dr. Jorge Guzman recently on this topic:   Caring for VIPs: Nine principles

…….

In this case, VIPS stands for “volunteers in plastic surgery.”  

The online site of the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery has an article discussing the guidelines for VIPS who provide surgical care for children in the less developed world.

The guidelines were developed by the Volunteers in Plastic Surgery (VIPS) Committee of the ASPS/PSEF  in conjunction with the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA).

This document is not intended to represent a standard that must be followed by everyone performing this work in developing countries.  Locations, circumstances, and needs may vary greatly depending on the site.  Rather it is intended to provide a framework for providers involved in the care of children in the less developed world.

The guidelines can also be found here as a pdf file:  Guidelines for the Care of Children in the Less Developed World. 

The VIPS program stresses working in conjunction with the local plastic surgeons by invitation and proper planning with a mission/purpose for the trip.  Adhere to high standards of quality of surgery, care, and teaching.  Be sensitive to host needs and customs.  Be a Good Guest!

 

 

 

 

REFERENCE

Volunteers in Plastic Surgery (VIPS) Guidelines for Providing Surgical Care for Children in the Less Developed World; Schneider, William J.; Politis, George D.; Gosain, Arun K.; Migliori, Mark R.; Cullington, James R.; Peterson, Elizabeth L.; Corlew, D. Scott; Wexler, Andrew M.; Flick, Randall; Van Beek, Allen L.; Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery., POST ACCEPTANCE, 8 February 2011; doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3182131d2a

The Role of Humanitarian Missions in Modern Surgical Training; Campbell, Alex; Sherman, Randy; Magee, William P.; Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 126(1):295-302, July 2010; doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181dab618

Medical Reserve Corps

Updated 3/2017 -- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.

I have volunteered to be a member of a local medical reserve corps (Pulaski County MRC Team 1).  It is still in the forming stage as we recruit members, etc.  There are many on-line courses that can be taken to ready yourself or to take as a review every few years.  A-Train allows me (and other members of my team) to access these courses and to keep a transcript log of the courses we take (and add those not taken through this site).  It also allows our leader to suggest courses for us, to contact us for periodic meetings, etc.  Through this site, I can link to others such as the federal site "Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps". 

I am told that most MRC’s have difficulty getting physicians to sign up.  We need to train along with the EMT’s, fire departments, city planners, hospitals, etc so that when disasters (be it California’s fires or earthquakes, Arkansas’ tornados and this year floods, the Gulf’s hurricanes, school shootings, etc) happen we are ready.  We need to be ready as well as willing.  I would encourage you to volunteer.  You can specify that you are not willing (or able) to be deployed great distances or for extended periods of time.  By being educated in the lingo, organization, and vouched for (they can check your degree, etc) ahead of time it will be easier for you to be “used” when the time comes.

You can search for an MRC in your area here.

I began this course a few years ago and have been slowly learning more about disaster response (man and nature made).  Arkansas recently set up a website for registering as a volunteer, so they could “vet” us prior to being called out.

The Arkansas ESAR-VHP System is an electronic database of healthcare personnel who volunteer to provide aid in an emergency or major disaster. Our System is ultimately designed to register health volunteers, apply emergency credentialing standards to registered volunteers, and allow for the verification of the identity, credentials, and qualifications of registered volunteers in an emergency.

Registered healthcare volunteers will be contacted to determine availability when there is a need for emergency personnel. If available for deployment the volunteer will be provided with the appropriate contact and reporting information.

I would like to encourage you to volunteer or at least on a personal level learn what you need to do as an individual to keep yourself and family safe.  That will lessen the need of responders to do rescue.

IS-22 Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness