DONALD C. POMPAN, M.D.
ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, PATIENT ADVOCATE, CLINICAL RESEARCHER
Don Pompan, M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Salinas, California since 1994. Dr. Pompan received his B.A. at Harvard and Masters Degree at UCLA, both in Biochemistry. He obtained his medical degree at UC Irvine and then did an orthopedic surgery residency at Harbor-UCLA focusing on trauma. He then completed his training at the University of Western Ontario where he completed a fellowship in Sports Medicine.
After one year in private practice in San Diego, Dr. Pompan realized that his passion was in working with the indigent population as he had in residency. He then joined the staff of Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California where his practice has focused on treating agricultural workers and their families. Dr. Pompan also became involved in treating inmates at the two state correctional facilities in the Salinas Valley. In addition, he became part owner of a number of urgent care centers that specialize in treating injured workers. These clinical experiences put him in close contact with an incredibly diverse group of patients from many ethnicities and social backgrounds.
Dr. Pompan has been very active in medicine outside of his patient care activities. He has been involved in clinical research in knee pain in overweight women, with the largest case series in the literature that utilizes a specific injection technique, developed by Dr. Pompan, aimed to decrease unnecessary knee replacements. He has published articles for primary care physicians on the overuse of MRI examinations, and how it can lead to unnecessary surgical procedures.
Dr. Pompan has been involved in battles outside of medicine on behalf of patients. He was President of the Monterey County Medical Society where he fought (unsuccessfully) against the corporatization of medicine, which, for example, forced physicians to use electronic medical records, which, some argue has had a negative impact on the doctor-patient relationship. He was involved in fighting the opioid epidemic in the early 2000s battling the California Medical Board when it went after physicians who under-prescribed opioids. He also was involved with opposing state policies that denied inmates their basic orthopedic care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he co-authored articles opposing the government policies of lockdowns and censorship of physicians, advocated for patient choice regarding the use of medications for early treatment (such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin), and put forth a national plan in 2020 to open up businesses and return children to the classroom.
Dr. Pompan and his wife Marcia have two children and have lived in Monterey County, California for 31 years.
Just Do The Math
DONALD C. POMPAN, M.D.
When it comes to proving God’s existence, one can easily point to the physical beauty that surrounds us, the diversity of the animal world, unexpected recoveries from terminal illnesses or mankind’s incredible creations from science to the arts. I recognize that much of the wondrous world we experience, can be explained by science, so what “hard data” can I point to, to make my point - that God exists?
Now I don’t profess to be a biblical scholar, and I’m not writing this to prove any one religion’s “truth” or the “superiority” of one group over another. I just want to point out some realities that, in my opinion, are best explained by God’s existence.
What would you call it, if thousands of years ago, overnight, all this previously unknown wisdom immediately appeared that far exceeded what was known by inhabitants of the earth at the time? Would you call it evidence of a higher power? The Ten Commandments alone provided an advanced ethical and moral compass for humans and societies. Imagine if everyone on earth lived by these laws? We would see far less dishonesty, crime, murder, infidelity and a lot more gratitude and happiness—in short, a better world.
Now look at the miracle of Israel - a land promised in the Bible to the Jews by God. How can anyone explain how this tiny country, occupied and surrounded by enemies, came into being, other than by divine intervention? Almost every person I know who has traveled to Israel, across many different religions, is overtaken with the feeling that there is something extremely special, something holy, something divine about this place.
Finally, Jews are a rounding error in terms of the world’s population yet the Bible describes them as “chosen by God” to be a “light onto the nations,” and have been given the responsibility to carry God’s laws and commandments to the rest of the world. How would you say that has worked out so far? From Nobel Prizes in every category, to Pulitzer Prizes, to academy award winners, their contributions are greatly disproportionate to their numbers. Don’t believe me? Just do the math.
But it goes far beyond that. Jews are at the forefront of movements that don’t even involve Jews, such as the Civil Rights movement. It is that divine spark to become a “light onto the nations” and to “heal the world” that animates the Jewish people into fighting for just causes. Is it any surprise that we find ourselves, throughout history, the target of those who seek to place themselves above God, such as Pharaoh, Hitler, or Czars? As Tevye asked God in “Fiddler on the Roof,” “I know we are the chosen people. But once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?”
So, I know that God exists by what only can be explained by the divine; the introduction of a moral and ethical system into a primitive world, the miracle of Israel and the unbelievable story of the Jewish people.