Draft:Thomas Jefferson Crane

Thomas Jefferson Crane (17.05.1960 — 06.05.2022) — an American internal medicine doctor with 35 years of clinical experience in the USA and Ukraine, a Christian, a philanthropist, a volunteer, an officer of the US Air Force. He lived and conducted his projects in Ukraine from 2007 to January 2022. Known for his outstanding contribution to the field of charity for orphans and non-formal medical education.

 Life in USA 

Crane was born in Greenville, South Carolina, to James Thomas Crane, a dentist, and Geraldine Peedin Crane.

Education

Chemisty bachelor's degree at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, magna cum laude (1978-1982).

Doctor of Medicine, MD, at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, South Carolina, (1982-1986).

Internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Virginia (VCU Medical Center now (1986-1989).

Military Service

School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, Texas, May-July 1983

Promotion to Captain and Reappointment to Medical Corps, USAFR, April 1986

Military Indoctrination for Medical Service Officers, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, July 1989

Active Duty, USAF, Chief of Internal Medicine, 354th Medical Group (Tactical Air Command), Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, July 1989-April 1993

Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Saudi Arabia, August 1990-March 1991 with responsibility as Chief of Internal Medicine for Mass Casualty Planning and Operations

Promotion to Major, USAF, May 1992

Resigned commission and honorable discharge, April 1993

Clinical Practice

McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence, South Carolina, 1993—2007.

Carolinas Hospital System, Florence, South Carolina, 1993—2007.

As a board-certified internist, Dr. Crane worked in Florence, South Carolina, for 14 years.

Life in Ukraine

Moving to Ukraine

The move to Ukraine was preceded by Christian Missions to Ukraine in 2002 and 2003, where Dr. Crane was a team leader along with his wife, Donna Crane.

In 2007, together with his family, following his religious beliefs, he decided to become a medical missionary in Ukraine, as a representative of the International Faith Initiatives organization (now Reliant Mission).

Dr. Crane was one of the first American doctors who got Ukrainian medical license and officially practiced in Ukraine. «Universum Clinic»

During the approbation of his diploma in Ukraine, Dr. Crane met the then-future founder of "Universum Clinic" Denys Bogomolov. Dr. Crane involved the then-future team of the clinic to volunteer in the ATO (Anti-terrorist Operation in the East of Ukraine) area and orphanages from 2014 to the summer of 2015.

It was in the summer of 2015 that the idea of creating a medical center that would correspond to Western approaches to the provision of medical services arose. This is how "Universum Clinic" was created, and Dr. Crane became the project's medical advisor in 2015.

During 2015-2016 period, still at the stage of creating the clinic, Dr. Crane helped to introduce into the clinic:


 * Patient logistics
 * Standards for the location of the patient's inspection area & the location of medical equipment
 * A set of medical tools and their use for general practitioners
 * The role of a general practitioner based on US models

He was the one who proposed the layout of offices in such a way that there would be no obstacle between the doctor and the patient (table, chair, etc.) during communication. Thanks to Dr. Crane, the founders managed to create a clinic that will later be admired by all visitors.

Also, in 2015, Dr. Crane helps to create and becomes one of the founders of the International Charitable Foundation "Universum".

In October 2016, the opening of the clinic took place. There, Dr. Crane begins to hold appointments as a general practitioner and organizes classes together with clinic doctors and medical university students. From 2016 to December 2021, Dr. Crane taught and shared his experience in Western medicine. Above all, Dr. Crane gave a wonderful example of a doctor, as a person with a big heart and a sincere soul.

As a medical consultant, Dr. Crane taught colleagues to perceive a person as a whole, with a body, emotions, faith, doubts, life purpose. He established the provision of professional medical care to people with different religious views, from different countries, ethnic groups and cultures.

Dr. Crane taught how to create trust, compliance with the patient, how important it is to accompany the patient, what the follow up system is, why it is important to change one's lifestyle, why care and a conscious attitude to one's own health and well-being is important.

While working at Universum Clinic, Dr. Crane constantly invites colleagues, students and interns to his practice, shares his experience and helps improve the quality of Ukrainian medicine. He implements Western medicine in the clinic, opens the UpToDate resource for Ukrainian doctors, and continuously shares foreign literature.

It was his initiative to create a "Doctor-Patient Relationship" club based in the clinic, the purpose of which is to improve doctor-patient cooperation, to teach doctors to see their shortcomings and work on them, as well as the "Universum Clinic Discussion Club", where clinical cases and various approaches in medicine are discussed.

Projects in which UC participated together with Dr. Crane in the period from 2016 to 2021:


 * Volunteering at medical exams for military personnel in the ATO zone
 * Joint work on providing medical and emotional care together with military chaplains in the ATO zone
 * Medical English, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Universum Clinic Discussion Club
 * Joint medical exams for pupils, students of international schools, universities and organizations in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine

Dr. Crane moved to Lviv in January 2022 and moved back to the US in February 2022 before the full-scale invasion began.

Ukrainian Medical Student Association

Dr. Crane began his acquaintance with the Ukrainian Medical Student Association from the internship project for students at "Universum Clinic". He then became a mentor for students who were selected for internships and started free medical English classes directly at the clinic.

In addition, Dr. Crane was the initiator of the creation of the School of Leadership together with Doctor of Philosophy in the field of leadership, Artem Klyuchnikov, founder of the Analytical Center for Research and Development of Leadership. It covered a variety of topics—emotional intelligence, leadership truths, leadership values, and more.

Projects

During his practice, Dr. Crane also contributes to the professional development of Ukrainian doctors. In 2016, he organized informal meetings to discuss clinical cases along with learning English grammar and medical vocabulary, which will first be held in the waiting area of "Universum Clinic".

Later, such meetings grew into two weekly medical English classes, expanding to the scale of university classrooms. The idea of the project, later better known as "Medical English with T. Jefferson Crane, MD", was to acquaint a wider circle of Ukrainian doctors with Western standards of medical education and clinical practice, while simultaneously learning English and medicine. The project lasted for 5 years in the format of live discussions and online meetings, not stopping even during the 2019-2021 coronavirus disease pandemic.

Later in 2018, Dr. Crane, together with Artem Klyuchnikov, creates the "Character Forum" community, designed to be a platform for discussing issues related to personal autonomy, career choices, relationships with others, emotional intelligence, etc. In this way, Dr. Crane shares his beliefs and helps examine, understand, and apply principles from what he believes is the most fundamental book in human history, the Bible.

Dr. Crane is also a co-author of the Prometheus course on communication in the medical environment - "Healthy Communication". 

Through his projects, Dr. Crane helped young people to not lose their love for medicine and people, rally around common ideas, he motivated them to develop and be open to new experiences. Dr. Crane's dream was to form a community of Western-style Ukrainian doctors, freed from the Soviet mindset of medicine, who would live and work in Ukraine.

Family

He is survived by: his wife Donna Crane; his children, Dr. Austin Crane (Megan) of Columbia, David Crane (Taylor) of Columbia, Anna Kate Crane of Kyiv, Natalie Crane of Columbia, Nathan Crane (Vaviel) of Columbia and Valeriia Crane of Kyiv, Ukraine; his sisters, Lynn Cantrell (Glenn) of Anderson and Joyce Hawkins (Michael) of Travelers Rest.

Honors and awards

Distinguished Humanitarian Physician Alumni Award, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 2018.

Air Force Commendation Medal, July 1992 and again April 1993.

Tactical Air Command Real Pro Award, May 1992.

Frank G. Farley, MD Leadership Award, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 1986.

Lange Medical Publication Award for Academic Excellence and Service to the USC School of Medicine, 1985.

American College of Surgeons member, 1990 — now.

Christian Medical & Dental Associations member, 1982 — now.

Ex-member of American Medical Association.

Ex-member of The South Carolina Medical Association.

Phi Beta Kappa member.

 Bibliography 

Contributing author to chapter on medical reform: Reformation: Europe's success and a chance for Ukraine, Vernon Smith, Summit-Book, 2017 ISBN 9786177504220

Application of Cyclic Voltammetry to Rhodium Syngas Catalyst Precursor Systems, Inorganica Chimica Acta, 65 (1982) L83-85.