Trauma Surgery

[nbd13]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions regarding trauma surgery.

1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?

2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon? I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?

Thanks for your help as I know everyone is busy on here,

Nick

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[skiz knot]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions regarding trauma surgery.

1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?

2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon? I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?

Thanks for your help as I know everyone is busy on here,

Nick

Don't go into general surgery if you want to be a trauma "surgeon", go into orthopaedics, otherwise you'll mostly just be a trauma "babysitter".
Just kidding. Not really...

I have never heard of a path (in the US) where you do ortho and then become a gen surg trauma surgeon (intrabdominal and chest injuries, gen surg emergency call, etc...). It wouldn't make sense. The training is completely different. If you do orthopaedics you are "qualified" to do orthopaedic trauma, or you can choose to do additional (1 year) training in a trauma fellowship.

As it stands with current reimbursement, in most cases the salary of an orthopaedic surgeon is significantly higher than a gen surg trauma surgeon. Of course there are many factors that play a role in that.

 

[JackADeli]

...1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?...

Unless things have changed... NO. Last I heard, the ABS position is that every graduating surgeon, having completed a fully accredited general surgery residency is a qualified trauma surgeon.

The majority of surgeons covering traumas at all levels have not done 2-3 additional years. That would actually be quite a waste. There are some centers that are knife & gun clubs. However, the majority of trauma in general is non-operative. To spend 2-3 years in a predominantly non-operative experience, would not make you a better trauma surgeon. Most folks I know that are interested in trauma consider a one year of critical care. The best option would be to do the one year critical care after PGY3 so has to not spend a year non-operative later.

...2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?...

Not to my knowledge.

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon?...

do web search.....
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=general+surgeon+salary
vs
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=trauma+surgeon+salary
vs
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=orthopedic+surgeon+salary

...I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?...

You don't need extra training... you just have to have interest and be willing to take the job. There are increasing per-diem on-call pay being offered.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions regarding trauma surgery.

1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?

Most trauma/CC fellowships are 1-2 years in length completed after a 5 year general surgery residency. You do not need a fellowship to do trauma surgery in most places in the country; hospitals are desperate for trauma surgeons and often do not require fellowship training.

Most of us did more than enough trauma in general surgery to be able to handle most things that come along (and as noted above, trauma "surgery" is heavily non-operative in most places).

2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?

There are *orthopedic* trauma fellowships but you are doing ortho only, not GS type trauma/critical care. I do not know the length of Ortho trauma fellowships but 3 years seem a bit long to me (since you do a lot of Ortho trauma during residency anyway).

** edit - NM - I looked it up; looks like most Ortho Trauma fellowships are 1 year in length.

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon? I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?

There is no extra training for a GS trained trauma surgeon over the Ortho trained trauma surgeon. As above, I would venture that the Ortho surgeon is nearly always going to make more given current reimbursements.

No one knows what is going to happen to the medical system as we know it, or salaries so it would simply be random guesses as to what the salaries will be when you get there...10 + years from now.

 

[JackADeli]

Cougar... you are fast!

 

[XeReX]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions regarding trauma surgery.

1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?

2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon? I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?

Thanks for your help as I know everyone is busy on here,

Nick

Dude what year of medical school you are in?

 

[EMS5]

Dude what year of medical school you are in?

PM2

(re: thread by kid who referred to himself as a PM1 aka college freshman)

 

[XeReX]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions regarding trauma surgery.

1. What are the residency requirements for becoming a trauma surgeon? Is it 5 years of general surgery followed by a 3 year residency in trauma surgery?

2. Someone told me you can do a 5 year residency in orthopedics and then another 3 years in trauma surgery, is this true?

3. I know this question gets bashed around on here, but what is the average salary of a trauma surgeon compared to say an orthopedic surgeon? I mean is the extra training to become a trauma surgeon rewarded by a higher salary?

Thanks for your help as I know everyone is busy on here,

Nick

As of now concentrate on getting into med school, you will have four years to decide what specialty you wanna go into and everything about them.

 

[wolverinepwns]

I once had the same question, but working in a level one trauma emergency dept. I can tell you that trauma surgery as a specialty is a dying breed, since depending what area the injury is the specialist from that area will be the one on the case! neuro will be a neursurgeon, cardio a cardiosurgeon, ...

 

[JackADeli]

...but working in a level one trauma emergency dept. I can tell you that trauma surgery as a specialty is a dying breed...

Please refrain from commentary on topics you clearly lack any real understanding. A dying breed..... sure, very well educated comment from a pre-med.

 

[EMS5]

I once had the same question, but working in a level one trauma emergency dept. I can tell you that trauma surgery as a specialty is a dying breed, since depending what area the injury is the specialist from that area will be the one on the case! neuro will be a neursurgeon, cardio a cardiosurgeon, ...

cardiosurgeon...thats a new one...anyway on to my point...

I've treated/transported a few patients who were candidates for a specialist - thoracic penetrating trauma, traumatic brain and spinal injuries, sliced EJ that def needed vascular....maybe 10 or 12 in total...I can also count on one hand (actually one finger) the number of times I have seen a specialist in the ED before I left...

about half of the patients I call in as a trauma protocol have the trauma surgeon waiting in the bay when I get there. For a dying breed they sure do see a lot of patients...for the record we have the full spectrum of adult surgical specialties available

 

[45408]

I once had the same question, but working in a level one trauma emergency dept. I can tell you that trauma surgery as a specialty is a dying breed, since depending what area the injury is the specialist from that area will be the one on the case! neuro will be a neursurgeon, cardio a cardiosurgeon, ...

I can tell you that you don't know what you're talking about. Neurosurgery doesn't want to be primary. Ortho doesn't want to be primary. Anyone willing to be primary will be in business.

 

[runrunrudolph1]

you can also get a fellowship in Trauma Surgery if you would like (and thus request a much higher paying salary) and they even have specialized Trauma Surgeons (mostly trained at Shock Trauma and other very large hospitals, which is kinda cool)

 

[Disinence2]

Keep an eye out for a new "Emergency Surgery" sorta of position that some hospitals are considering forming.

The idea would be shift work like in the ER, but handling all the late night appys, choles, and other surgical emergencies including traumas.

Nothing official yet...just some rumors

 

[IHeartNerds]

Keep an eye out for a new "Emergency Surgery" sorta of position that some hospitals are considering forming.

The idea would be shift work like in the ER, but handling all the late night appys, choles, and other surgical emergencies including traumas.

Nothing official yet...just some rumors

If by "nothing official yet", you mean that's exactly what our primary university hospital does, then yes. ESS (emergency surgery service) is an established thang here in Philly. Sure makes call for most of the other gen surgery people sweet (relatively speaking).

 

[JackADeli]

I can tell you that you don't know what you're talking about. Neurosurgery doesn't want to be primary. Ortho doesn't want to be primary. Anyone willing to be primary will be in business.

I wasn't going to go much deeper... but you hit the topic fairly square.

First, trauma accreditation comes with certain financial incentives. Thus, medical centers are seeking differing levels of "trauma accreditation"

Second, to be accredited in trauma by the contrlling trauma body, you need a defined "trauma service" that assumes primary patient care responsibility and management responsibility. You will be very hard pressed to find a neurosurgeon, ortho surgeon, thoracic surgeon, vascular surgeon, optho surgeon, gyn surgeon, urology surgeon, derm surgeon, plastic surgeon, etc... willing to be primary. In fact, even if the patients primary injury is an isolated neuro trauma, it is hard to get neurosurgery to accept primary management... and the trauma reviewing committee looks very closely at how many patients were transferred from general surgery trauma service to a subspecialist service. They also look closely at the number of trauma down grades.

So, for anyone to say trauma is a dying breed and moving to in essence a bunch of subspecialty care services, they would be showing their ignorance.

 

[45408]

Keep an eye out for a new "Emergency Surgery" sorta of position that some hospitals are considering forming.

The idea would be shift work like in the ER, but handling all the late night appys, choles, and other surgical emergencies including traumas.

Nothing official yet...just some rumors

Rumors be gone! Many hospitals have acute care surgery services, which are often run by trauma surgeons (but could be managed by any general surgeon). Just search for "acute care surgery."

 

[kemper6036]

Keep an eye out for a new "Emergency Surgery" sorta of position that some hospitals are considering forming.

The idea would be shift work like in the ER, but handling all the late night appys, choles, and other surgical emergencies including traumas.

Nothing official yet...just some rumors

what you are describing is known as acute care surgery....it also includes critical care

 

[EMS5]

You guys and gals really don't read each others posts before you say something do you?