The Doctor is Deployed - LLM Publications

TheDoctor isDeployedBy Carla McKelvey, MDWHEN YOU SIT INDr. Jonathon Park’s officethere is no doubt where hisloyalty lies. His office—and also his bigred pickup truck—is decorated with thesymbols and memorabilia of the ArmyNational Guard. He wears his pride inthe military on his sleeve.Park was born in South Korea andimmigrated to the United States whenhe was six years old. His commitmentto the military is a reflection of thedebt of gratitude he feels for hisadopted country. He joined as a fourthyear medical student in Puerto Rico,also finding the financial assistance aboon.He initially enlisted with theanticipation of being out in a fewyears, but each time he re-enlisted.He enjoyed being the physician forother National Guard troops as theydid their training and assignments atFort Drum, NY; Fort Pickett, VA; andIndian Town Gap, PA, to name a few.In the middle of it all, he completedhis family practice residency in Erie,Pennsylvania.In September 2001, the world changedand the troops in the NationalGuard began playing a role thatmany had never anticipated. Lt. Col.Park though, never questioned thecommitment he made. “I knew what Isigned up for,” he says. He knew whenhe joined that he might be called intoactive duty, so when the first call camein 2004, he went without question.Life “over there”He was assigned to Patrol BaseVolunteer which covered Sadr City inBaghdad and the Rusafa District. Hewas the only physician on the base andwas responsible for maintaining thehealth of the troops—American, Iraqi,and Coalition forces—and also wasavailable to help local citizens. He wason call 24 hours a day for three andhalf months.The troops under his care werea “quick reaction force”. Theyresponded to any attacks in the areathey covered. Park says he would hearthe trucks start up and “wonder andpray that they [would] come back.”Sometimes they would be gone forhours and sometimes for days. It wasan emotionally stressful situation,according to Park, but eventuallyyou “get used to it” and becomeconditioned to it.Routinely he would see facial traumaand barotraumas from the explosionsof the IEDs. The worst situation hefaced was when nine Iraqi soldiers werehit by an IED and brought to theirpatrol base. His job was to supervise aphysician assistant and several medics14 • Medicine in Oregon