Not many doctoral residents can add “James Bond movie” to their résumés.
This spring, residents in GW’s School of Medicine and Health Science’s emergency medicine program worked as physicians for the cast and crew of the new James Bond movie “Quantum of Solace.” Residents rotated doing one-week stints for six weeks during filming in Chile and Panama.
“During the stunts people broke legs and arms,” said Christopher Lang, an emergency medicine professor who oversaw the residents who worked in Chile. “There was dehydration and skin infection. If someone needed further attention, we made sure that the hospitals had the appropriate standard of care and communicated with the doctors.”
Lang said movie sets are normally staffed by nurses, but in this case medical students were called in to act as backups. GW professor Raymond Lucas oversaw the medical care in Panama.
“Quantum of Solace,” which is set for release in November, is a sequel to 2006’s “Casino Royale.” In the movie, Bond meets a businessman who plans to overthrow a Latin American country’s regime government to acquire land that contains valuable natural resources.
The longstanding D.C. adage that personal connections will bring unique opportunities held true for even the medical community.
Dr. James D’Orta, chairman and chief executive officer of Consumer Health Services and an adjunct professor of emergency medicine, spent part of his residency at GW. He is also cousin to Barbara Broccoli, the daughter of Bond producer Albert Broccoli. Barbara Broccoli is now the CEO of EON Productions, which owns the Bond franchise.
“She called me and was concerned about the medical care in Central and South America for her cast and crew,” D’Orta said. “I know about the quality of GW’s emergency medicine program and asked Dr. Shesser, the chair of the department of emergency medicine, if we could use the residents with some faculty backup. He said ‘yes.'”
D’Orta praised GW’s emergency medicine program as one of the leading emergency medicine programs in the nation.
“They reviewed the scenes with action stunts and gave technical advice that averted disaster and prevented serious injury,” he said.
D’Orta’s family invited the faculty and residents who helped on set to a special pre-premiere screening of “Quantum Solace” for cast and crewmembers in London next November.
When asked if his family might utilize the skills of GW’s emergency medicine program again, D’Orta responded, “Yes! But let’s get through this movie first.”
