Donald Trunkey

{{Infobox person | name = Don Trunkey | image = | nationality = | birth_date = {{birth date|1937|06|23}} | birth_place = Oakesdale, Washington | death_date = {{death date|2019|05|01}} (aged 81) | death_place = Post Falls, Idaho | spouse = {{marriage|Jane Mary Henry |1958}} | children = 2 | education = Washington State College<br />University of Washington | module = {{Infobox medical details | profession = Surgeon | field = Trauma | work_institutions = University of California, San Francisco<br />Oregon Health & Science University | specialism = Zoology | research_field = | prizes = }} }} '''Donald Dean Trunkey''' (23 June 1937{{spaced ndash}}1 May 2019) was an American trauma surgeon.<ref name="ohsu.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/departments/clinical-departments/surgery/about/donald-trunkey-lectureship.cfm|title=Donald D. Trunkey, M.D. Lectureship|website=Oregon Health & Science University|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westnsurg.org/ablin/donaldtrunkey.asp|title=Western Neurosurgical Society President|website=Westnsurg.org|accessdate=18 December 2018|archive-date=17 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217062756/http://www.westnsurg.org/ablin/donaldtrunkey.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life== Trunkey was born in 1937 in Washington State.<ref name="ohsu.edu"/> He received a BS in Zoology from Washington State College, 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 in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1gFYAAAAIBAJ&pg=5197,1025216|title=Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive Search|website=News.google.com|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref>

==Medical education== He then went to the University of Washington for Medical School and graduated in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ohsu-hca.blogspot.com/2008/09/history-of-medicine-in-oregon.html|title=Historical Notes: History of medicine in Oregon|first=Sara|last=Piasecki|date=3 September 2008|website=Ohsu-hca.blogspot.com|accessdate=18 December 2018|archive-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803184532/http://ohsu-hca.blogspot.com/2008/09/history-of-medicine-in-oregon.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/index.cfm?sAddToHeader=&sPageStyle=Interior%20Full%20Width&sPromotedParentLabel=&sHorizontalJSONNav=&sPromotedParentHeader=&sPageTitle=Donald%20D%2E%20Trunkey%2C%20M%2ED%2E%20%7C%20OHSU%20People&bIsStandaloneTemplateCall=true|title=Donald D. Trunkey, M.D. - OHSU People|first=Health care|last=profile|website=Oregon Health & Science University|accessdate=18 December 2018|archive-date=19 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519042212/http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/index.cfm?sAddToHeader=&sPageStyle=Interior%20Full%20Width&sPromotedParentLabel=&sHorizontalJSONNav=&sPromotedParentHeader=&sPageTitle=Donald%20D%2E%20Trunkey%2C%20M%2ED%2E%20%7C%20OHSU%20People&bIsStandaloneTemplateCall=true/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He interned under J. Englebert Dunphy at the University of Oregon Medical School, who became his mentor and turned his focus to surgery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv64010|title=Archives West: Donald D. Trunkey Papers, 1970-2015|website=Archiveswest.orbiscascade.org|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref> He was then drafted into the army and served two years in Germany.<ref name="ohsu.edu"/> He completed his surgical training at UCSF and became a faculty member in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sfgh.surgery.ucsf.edu/media/234872/history%20of%20sfgh.pdf|title=THE HISTORY OF THE SURGICAL SERVICE AT SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL|website=Sfgh.surgery.ucsf.edu|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="ohsu.edu"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Current therapy of trauma, 1984-1985|date=1984|publisher=Decker|author1=Trunkey, Donald D. | author2= Lewis, Frank R.|isbn=0-941158-12-8|location=Philadelphia|oclc=10824242}}</ref> In 1986 he became the Chief of Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dontrunkey.com/2018/08/16/san-francisco-good-bye-roast/|title=San Francisco Good Bye Roast – My Dad is a BIG DEAL – Don Trunkey|website=Dontrunkey.com|date=16 August 2018 |accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref>San Francisco Chronicle, March 29, 1986 p. 4</ref> In 2018 he retired to Idaho.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dontrunkey.com/about-this-site/|title=About this site – Don Trunkey|website=Dontrunkey.com|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref>

==Writings== Trunkey has authored 174 journal articles, 25 books, and about 200 book chapters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2017/06/23/don-trunkey-wsu-alumni-award/|title=Surgery, trauma expert Don Trunkey presented Alumni Achievement Award - WSU Insider - Washington State University|date=23 June 2017|website=News.wsu.edu|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kingfaisalprize.org/professor-donald-d-trunkey/|title=King Faisal Prize - Professor Donald D. Trunkey|website=Kingfaisalprize.org|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref> In 1978 he starred in an episode of ''Lifeline'' on NBC.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dr. Donald Trunkey: emergency trauma surgeon-in-chief|date=18 December 1980|oclc=8037028}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16880450/the_petaluma_arguscourier/|title=Clipped From The Petaluma Argus-Courier|newspaper=Petaluma Argus-Courier|date=25 April 1980|page=28|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref>

"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.<ref name=OHSU>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/about/trunkey-72910.cfm|title=Dr. Trunkey: An advocate for injured patients, a legend in trauma care|website=Oregon Health & Science University|accessdate=18 December 2018}}</ref> "That paper was a bombshell. It was one of the earliest, most persuasive pieces of evidence on the effectiveness of trauma centers."<ref name=OHSU/> Trunkey was, more than any other single person, responsible for the development of sophisticated, state-of-the-art trauma programs in the U.S.<ref name=Deveney>{{cite web|url=https://dontrunkey.com/2018/10/29/icon-in-surgery-by-karen-deveney-m-d-f-a-c-s/|title=Icon in Surgery|first=Karen|last=Deveny|date=29 October 2018}}{{unreliable source?|date=December 2018}}</ref>

==Awards== In 2008 he received the King Faisal prize in medicine for his research improving trauma care.<ref name=Faisal>{{cite web|url=https://kingfaisalprize.org/professor-donald-d-trunkey/|title=Professor Donald D. Trunkey|publisher=King Faisal Prize|year=2008|accessdate=4 December 2018}}</ref> He has many other awards including Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeons, Washington State University College of Science Distinguished Alumnus Award, Barry Goldwater Service Award, International Society of Surgery Prize, Honorary Membership of the 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.<ref name=Faisal/> In 2018 he received the Icons in Surgery award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facs.org/find-a-session/session/16387|title=Icons in Surgery|publisher=American College of Surgeons|accessdate=4 December 2018|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328005021/https://www.facs.org/find-a-session/session/16387|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Deveney/>

==Death== Trunkey died in Post Falls, Idaho on 1 May 2019, at the age of 81.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://dontrunkey.com/ | title=Don Trunkey | access-date=2024-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bulletin.facs.org/2019/08/in-memoriam-donald-d-trunkey-md-facs-a-giant-in-trauma-surgery/|title = In memoriam: Donald D. Trunkey, MD, FACS, a giant in trauma surgery|date = August 2019}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trunkey, Donald}} Category:1937 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Medical doctors from Washington (state) Category:American traumatologists Category:Washington State University alumni Category:University of Washington School of Medicine alumni Category:UCSF School of Medicine faculty Category:Oregon Health & Science University faculty Category:20th-century American surgeons Category:21st-century American surgeons