A Week of Vital Medical Training in Salzburg

The Division of Trauma, Burns, Critical and Acute Care at Weill Cornell Medicine provides vitally needed services at New York’s number one hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center. The division counts with a team of internationally recognized physicians responsible for emergency medicine including general surgery, burn and trauma care, surgical intensive care, and many more crucial services especially for critical and complex cases in one of the world’s most important cities. Leading the division is Dr. Robert Winchell, this week’s course director at the Trauma and Emergency Surgery seminar in Salzburg.

Trauma and emergency surgery involves immediate, lifesaving and multidisciplinary care, and none better than Dr. Winchell to train future specialists in the field. Bringing his remarkable experience leading the division at Weill Cornell, Dr. Winchell also assembled a team of experts from different institutions in the US, making this a truly one-of-a-kind multidisciplinary event for aspiring leaders. From the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Demetrios Demetriades joined us as Chief of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care at Los Angeles (LA) General Medical Center, the largest trauma center in California. From the University of Maryland, we welcomed Dr. Sharon Henry as Chief of the Division of Wound Healing and Metabolism. From the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), was Dr. David Shatz, Professor of Surgery, specializing in acute resuscitation and management of severely injured patients at the institution, playing a key role in its trauma program.

Co-directing the course was Dr. Harald Widhalm, who brought in expertise from Austria along with colleagues from the Medical University of Vienna: Dr. Stephan Heisinger, Dr. Michael Humenberger, Dr. Christian Matula, and Dr. Julia Starlinger, who was kindly able to lecture remotely.

The week of January 25-31, 2026, counted with a comprehensive program divided into 32 didactic lectures and fellows’ case presentation sessions. The lectures were thought of to encompass the wide variety of essential topics in trauma and emergency surgery, and to value the importance of interdisciplinarity in the field. From burn care and ventilator management to hepatic and splenic injuries, participants got a glimpse of it all.

As stated by OMI’s CEO, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Aulitzky, it is imperative that trauma and emergency physicians are well trained, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, during which many patients lost their lives due to emergency care challenges, including inadequate ventilator management.

In this context, seminars such as this one play a vital role in strengthening clinical skills, building international networks, and improving outcomes for critically ill and injured patients worldwide. The week in Salzburg was not only an opportunity for intensive learning, but also a reminder of the global responsibility shared by trauma and emergency surgery professionals.

As emphasized by Dr. Winchell, the mission of global surgery and trauma education remains at the core of this initiative:

“I have been involved with global surgery working to build capacity for trauma and emergency surgical care for most of my career, including work with the American College of Surgeons, the World Health Organization, and OMI.

We aim to create an experience that is rewarding and offers professional growth for the fellows as well as the faculty. Our colleagues bring valuable perspectives and insights that will further collaboration in the pursuit of future development. I look forward to continued success as OMI and local partners build capacity for trauma and emergency surgical care across the world.”

We look forward to more years of partnership and extend a heartfelt thank you to the faculty for their commitment with our mission of quality medical education beyond borders!