Folke Hammarqvist awarded with the Håkan Mogren Stipend

Folke Hammarqvist, Associate Professor in Surgery at Karolinska Institutet and Consultant at Karolinska University Hospital, has been awarded the Stipend for 2017 from the Håkan Mogren Foundation in recognition of and to support his efforts for human welfare.

“I am overwhelmed and happy! This award is of great importance, not least for the field in which I work, which is emergency surgery and traumatology, where assessment, interaction and empathy are all essential for providing the best quality care,” explains Folke Hammarqvist.

The award comprises a diploma and a personal prize to the winner of SEK 250,000. To be eligible for the stipend, candidates must have established a reputation for looking after their patients with empathy and passion, and they should also be currently active, or planning to be active, in disseminating knowledge through lectures or the supervision of others.

Folke Hammarqvist has been awarded the Stipend in honour of his professional skills and his empathic approach. Not only does he provide support and care for his patients and their relatives, he listens to his colleagues and creates a true team spirit. The justification for the award also highlights the fact that he is a role model within education where he is recognised for his major commitment and teaching skills.

“Emergency surgery and traumatology require excellent team work, where optimal safety is achieved when patients, relatives and the entire team are all involved in the treatment. This is important within the modern health care, and cannot be replaced by technology. I have worked extensively in education, with practical medical work experience and together with others to reinforce the organisations involving emergency surgery and traumatology both in Sweden and abroad,” Folke Hammarqvist comments.

Educated some 1,500 physicians and aims to continue

Emergency surgery is an area that, together with traumatology, plays a central role in health care. Currently, the highest share of admitted patients arrive at hospital as emergency patients. Folke Hammarqvist is committed to education within the study programme in medicine and the education of younger physicians. He has been instrumental in developing national courses targeting emergency surgery and team and scenario training at emergency wards and operations involving trauma and emergency surgery.

“Working within education is so rewarding and you have the opportunity to keep abreast of developments. Every day, working in medicine involves elements of teaching, and we learn how to approach patients and their relatives in the way we work. Listening to the patients and their relatives is a natural part of medical work, and is necessary for us to be able to reach a diagnosis and provide help. One can gain important arguments by listening to what the patients and their relatives have to say, especially if the course of events has not been optimal, when making decisions about the structure of health care organisations that always in one way or another have an impact on our patients,” explains Folke Hammarqvist.

Over the years, around 1,500 younger physicians have taken part in courses held by Folke Hammarqvist, particularly within surgery. If we also count courses in for example team training, we find a further 2,000 students who have been able to benefit from Folke Hammarqvist’s knowledge. According to the man himself, this number is only set to increase.

At the time of writing, he is teaching ATLS (Advanced Trauma and Life Support), a first-level course in the treatment of patients who have suffered accidents. He is also involved internationally in an accreditation programme for emergency and trauma surgeons in Europe.

About the stipend

The Håkan Mogren Foundation was established in 2012. Its purpose is partly to promote education and research within the medical field and partly to promote the education and training of classical musicians, particularly singers. The purpose of the stipend is to provide the opportunity for well-qualified, scientifically competent and clinically active physicians to improve themselves in a particular field of interest to them.

Text: Selma Wolofsky