If you’re following ABC’s Boston Med, here’s a great Q&A session with Dr. Hasan Alam, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who was featured in the July 29th episode of the show. Boston Med is a docu-drama about life in the emergency department.

When Dr. Hasan was asked if there was anything else he wanted to add about the episode in which he appeared, he gave trauma researchers a nod: “Another aspect of this type of story that doesn’t get enough coverage is the people who make it possible to advance the field. Unfortunately, one thing that advances the field of trauma care dramatically is war. Every time there’s a war, the field of trauma benefits, as we learn new approaches for things like resuscitation and hemorrhage control, emergency surgeries and rehabilitation techniques.

“The Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advance Research Project Agency and the U.S Army Medical Research and Material Command don’t get enough credit for the enormous support they provide for trauma research. It is due to the ongoing support by such agencies and heroic efforts of countless military physicians that the care of the injured has been revolutionized in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these innovations have already been adopted by the civilian trauma community and are saving lives every day, including the life of the patient shown in this episode.”

Boston Med, a new ABC television series airing at 10:00 p.m./9:00 p.m. Central on Thursday nights , is bringing a dose of reality into America’s living rooms. A real-life drama filmed at Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Children’s Hospital Boston, the documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the caregivers and their work.

We think this is a show that everyone needs to see in order to appreciate the heartwrenching work of trauma care personnel. It also is a reminder of the prevalence of trauma in our society and the need to continue to advance medical practice in order to reduce death and disability due to traumatic injury. Watch episodes online.

You may be aware by now that the new fall lineup of TV shows on NBC includes a show called Trauma, set in San Francisco, featuring a team of first responder paramedics in a variety of trauma injury situations. NBC’s website features a section on the new series, including a sneak peek trailer of the show on the “Watch Video” section, and a forum for those interested in discussing the show. Peter Berg of “Friday Night Lights” fame is executive producer of the show, and the cast includes a core ensemble of seven.

Though we’re not yet sure how the show will fare when it debuts next Monday night, we’re certainly eager to see how the writers and directors portray the heroic actions of first responders. We’re even more eager to see how the show might help raise awareness of trauma in the United States. As the leading cause of death in Americans ages 1-44, resulting in 37 million ER visits, 2.6 million hospitalizations, and more than 170,000 deaths annually in the U.S., trauma affects us on a magnitude that a number of Americans aren’t yet aware of. As an organization committed to raising awareness of trauma, we’re hopeful that Trauma can help Americans understand the prevalence and magnitude of real-life trauma, and we’re equally hopeful that the show realistically portrays the challenges that first responders routinely face in helping care for patients from the field to the hospital.