Emery

Lee High School

In the Life of a Trauma Surgeon

What do we do?

Rachel Emery

Senior Capstone

Mr. Cahoon

April 13, 2017

Rachel Emery
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Senior Capstone

Mr. Cahoon

April 21st, 2017

In the Life of a Trauma Surgeon

The life of a surgeon is one of the most eventful lives anyone could ever live. They are

the people citizens go to when they have a mysterious bump on their right arm, or when their

stomach hurts so bad they cant sit down and common knowledge doesnt solve it. Trauma

surgeons are the ones that severely injured people get rushed to when theyre shot, when they

have a heart attack, or when theyre in a car crash. During the most tragic times of a persons life

they are the people by their side. Surgeons are the ones that cheat death to save lives. No matter

what goes on in it. Whether theyre successful and own their own company or theyre a homeless

man that just got back from serving our country. The roles trauma surgeons play in the

modern ER are extremely critical.

Trauma surgeons are the ones people find in emergency rooms. They are the ones that

help if someone were to get their leg just got blown off, if someone got piled by a ton of bricks,

or break someones leg. These surgeons handle all of the extreme cases that come inside to our

emergency room. I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a

thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose... there are lives in our hands.

There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or

turn around and walk away. I could quit but here's the thing, I love the playing field. At some

point, you have to make a decision (Meredith Grey, 2005).

When people say they wish to be a doctor they dont realize how much it changes their

lives. They dont get to have time for much else, except their patients. When someone is a
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surgeon in general they have all their time devoted to the hospital they work at. When they get a

day off they truthfully need to be sick or their kids are sick. Although being a surgeon puts a

huge pause button on someones life they do still get to experience the coolest things a person

could imagine. The roles trauma surgeons play in the modern ER are one of the most significant

ones imagined. Seventy five percent of patients come through the emergency room for their

medical care. Approximately 60 million injuries occur annually in the United States. Roughly

one-half of these injuries require medical care, and 3.6 million require hospitalization. (Council

on Surgical and Perioperative Safety, 2017). Trauma surgeons definitely feel the most stress

compared to other specialties. When someone has a patient come in that is bleeding out, the

trauma surgeons currently on call need to think fast and work even faster. Being able to work

under pressure is an essential during the interview for the job. If they cant pass the stress test

then they cannot get the job at the hospital.

When someone first comes into the ER they get triaged. The definition of triaged is The

process of sorting people based on their need for immediate medical treatment as compared to

their chance of benefiting from such care. Triage is done in emergency rooms, disasters, and

wars, when limited medical resources must be allocated to maximize the number of survivors.

Triage is one of the most important things in the emergency room because they need to save all

the patients. Every single one of them that come into that emergency room. Obviously triage

prevents us from putting a broken leg in front of a heart attack, or things like that.

Given the intensity of traumatic injuries and the speed with which competent care must

be delivered, more and more hospitals expect travelers to hold several certifications (Anne Baye

Ericksen, 2002). During the times of someones injury, when they feel themselves in the most

severe pain imaginable to them, they want only the best at their side. When having several
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certifications instead of just M.D, or Ph.D, any patient would feel several times better about

being in the care of these surgeons hands. If someone were to come into the trauma unit it is

guaranteed that they dont want an intern or resident helping to save their lives. The best is the

only acceptable option. Now obviously there has to be more than one of the best trauma

surgeons available. If there were only one of the best then theyd be run ragged. They cannot be

there for every single patient which is why more a few per hospital is sufficient.

Tons of people are not cut out to be trauma surgeons. The personality required for it is not

in every person that is seen. Around 12.5% of the population cant even stand the sight of blood.

If you are someone who thrives in a fast paced environment, trauma surgery may be a great fit.

Most trauma surgeons work in large teaching hospitals or trauma centers where it is common to

have multiple patients arrive consecutively. You will need to work quickly without a lot of

downtime. Trauma doctors also need to be natural leaders. You will be in charge of a team of

nurses, respiratory therapists, x-ray technicians and other physicians. As the physician in charge,

you will need to lead the team. Leadership involves giving clear directions, delegating when

appropriate and keeping the team focused in intense and emotional situations (Ricky Persson,

2014).

Without the personality for quick, and extreme situations the emergency room wouldnt

look so nice anymore. With that in mind theyd be counting on our wins, with a greater amount

of losses. The physician or other professional must make a clinical evaluation as quickly as

possible. The diagnosis should be based on a complete history, a thorough physical examination,

and all appropriate laboratory and radiographic tests. The ER physician may not be able to arrive

at a specific diagnosis but is expected to rule out potentially life-threatening and other serious
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conditions that demand early treatment; consultation, and referral to an appropriate specialist.

(Jacob G. Vigil, 2001).

In conclusion, the role of a trauma surgeon in the modern emergency room is to save the

lives of incoming patients and check up on them to make sure they dont adhere to any infections

on their incision/wound. When the surgeons get assigned to a case theyre fully dedicated to that

one patient until after the surgery then once they get a new patient they do checkups on the

previous patient while still helping out their new patient. Most of the time to make sure things

dont get way too stressful for the surgeons residents are also assigned to the case with the

attending to help with checkups and minor things for their assigned attending for that day. The

role for a trauma surgeon in any hospital is to save lives of anyone walking through the

emergency room door.

Works Cited

Ericksen, Anne Baye. "Trauma Care: Then, Now, and Tomorrow." Modern medicine.Advanstar

Communications Inc, 01 Sept. 2002. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

Gottschalk, Mark A. "Portable trauma unit may save more soldiers." Design
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News, 3 Mar. 1997, p. 141+. Academic OneFile,go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&

sw=w&u= lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA19215230&asid=cc6

3c707afe8e0aad9cdbffec35fc5ca. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.

Persson, Ricky. "Are you cut out to be a trauma surgeon?" Gap Medics US. N.p., 10 Oct. 2016.

Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

"Trauma Surgery." AASPA. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. http://www.aaspa.com/surgical-pa-

specialties/trauma-surgery.

Vigil, Jacob G. "Negligence in the emergency room." Trial, May 2001, p. 28. Academic OneFile,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=

r&id=GALE%7CA75348662&asid=d5efd482432103142d01e7c142171b87.

Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.