I’m going to be (re)sharing the laws of trauma over the next few posts. I’ve identified a total of eleven over the past 12 years, and I wanted to share them with you.

But first, I’d like to share another trauma surgeon’s observations. Dr. Norman McSwain was an icon in trauma surgery during the early years of my career.

I knew Norm for decades and literally grew up reading about his advancements and accomplishments. Unfortunately, he passed nine years ago. It’s interesting that one never truly appreciates the magnitude of a colleague’s achievements until the person is gone.

Norm was a skilled surgeon and teacher, but his achievements were felt far outside his home in Louisiana. He was an early member of the ACS Committee on Trauma, and was very involved in the development of the Advanced Trauma Life Support and Prehospital Trauma Life Support courses. He is credited with developing the original EMS programs in both Kansas, where he took his first faculty position out of residency, and in New Orleans, his home for the remainder of his life. He spent his career at the Charity Hospital there, weathering multiple political storms over the years, as well as the big one, Hurricane Katrina. He was instrumental in achieving Level I Trauma Center status for its replacement, Interim LSU Hospital.

Norm’s accomplishments are, as many of his contemporaries who have left us, too numerous to count. I certainly won’t try to recount them here. But it was his charm, his love for his charges, and his willingness to teach every trauma professional that will always be remembered.

I’ll leave you with his 18 rules of patient care. They are timeless and will serve you well regardless of your degree and level of medical training.

In my next post, I’ll start explaining the eleven laws that I’ve developed.

Download McSwains Rules of Patient Care