John Chovanes, DO ’00 Attending Surgeon, Trauma Center, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey; Assistant Professor, Cooper University Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey; and Clinical Assistant Professor, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Fast-paced and protocol-driven, his job is among the most intense in the field of medicine. An attending surgeon at Cooper University Hospital, one of only three New Jersey State-Designated Level 1 Trauma Centers, Dr. Chovanes and his team are called at a moment’s notice to care for severely injured patients including persons involved in motor vehicle accidents, falls and acts of violence. On average, the Center, the oldest in the Delaware Valley, admits more than 2,700 trauma patients each year. “Trauma is a great equalizer,” Dr. Chovanes says. “Everyone——despite age, race or socioeconomic status——is susceptible to traumatic injury. Care must be delivered rapidly and consistently. Patients must be resuscitated, given fluids and sometimes ventilated; their injuries must be assessed and required surgical intervention, if any, must be determined.” A former paramedic and emergency room nurse, Dr. Chovanes also serves as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps. He has completed three tours of duty at combat support hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. His sense of duty ——solidified on the front lines of battle—— helps him to be emotionally resilient. “Despite public perception, there is little heroism or glamour involved in my day-to-day work. The hours are long and irregular, and I must submit to a pager buzzing endlessly,” he says. “But I like the challenge of restoring patients back to their normal lifestyles. I strive to show compassion for my patients—— whose lives have been dramatically altered in a split second.”
P HI LA D ELPH I A COLLE GE OF OSTEOPATH I C MEDICI NE
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