TY - JOUR T1 - Snapshots of Haiti: A Physician’s Relief Work in a Country in Crisis JF - The Annals of Family Medicine JO - Ann Fam Med SP - 556 LP - 558 DO - 10.1370/afm.1187 VL - 8 IS - 6 AU - Robert C. McKersie Y1 - 2010/11/01 UR - http://www.annfammed.org/content/8/6/556.abstract N2 - On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. All told, more than 240,000 perished; another 200,000 were injured; and one-half of the city’s 2,000,000 residents were left homeless. In March I volunteered with Medishare to help with the relief effort. Being a family physician, broadly trained in all aspects of medicine, I knew many of my skills would be needed. In the 7 days I was in Haiti, I worked excruciatingly long hours, witnessed the sorrow of death and joy of birth, and was continually confronted with the challenge of giving adequate and meaningful health care in a broken country. I learned that the physical and emotional toll on those who provide care in a crisis like Haiti is immense and unrelenting. But most importantly, I left Haiti with a renewed belief in what humans are able to accomplish when we all work together for a common purpose. ER -