"Typical" day

surgeonSomeday · Aug 22, 2006

I'm curious what the "typical" day is like on the Trauma service where you are. I know there's no such thing as a "typical" day in trauma, but indulge me.

What time do you start rounds? How long do they last? What's you average census look like (numbers and injuries, more penetrating or blunt?)? About how many alerts do you get in a given day? Do you do scheduled surgeries (ie follow ups to emergent procedures)? When? Clinic everyday? What kind of staff, MDs only, PAs, NPs? How is your team structured? Do you see just Trauma or is Emegency General and Surigical Critical Care also part of your team?

Thanks for indulging my curiousity...

BTW, any trauma ATTENDINGS out there? I'm curious what life is like after residency...

Blade28 · Aug 22, 2006

I just came off 2 months of trauma at a very busy county hospital...

Typically started rounds around 5, hit the trauma bay or OR anywhere from 6-12 times during the day, another 5-15 times at night. Our service usually ranged from 20-50 patients. Around 1/3rd penetrating, 2/3rds blunt. Our "scheduled," elective cases are usually wound washouts (abdomen, extremity), STSGs, BKAs/AKAs, PEG-Js, trachs, etc.

Clinic was two half-days a week. We had a couple attendings, a fellow, and a PGY-4, PGY-2, and PGY-1 on the service. 1-2 med students. No PAs or NPs.

The PGY-4 was the ICU chief, and went to the trauma bay and the OR. The PGY-2 was the floor chief, and floated between the ICU, trauma bay and OR. The PGY-1 usually stayed on the floor and helped with bedside procedures (CVLs, chest tubes).

Smurfette · Aug 24, 2006

Also at a busy county hospital...

Trauma is combined surg and EM. There are 3 surgery chiefs, 6 surgery juniors, 2-3 EM seniors, 9 EM juniors, a random number of med students and 6 or so attendings. No PAs or NPs. Only the surgery residents go to the OR, and surgery juniors cover the ICU while on call. Trauma is not done in shifts here, you are either on call or just come in for rounds and then go home. Inpatient census is 20-40ish. The number of patients seen varies since patients might be sent to the trauma bay for follow-up rather than to clinic which is only one half-day a week...thus they might come in for a wound check or stitches and not for a "trauma" per se. I think penetrating is about 35% of our traumas, which I have heard is down from a few years ago.

We do have 1 day of elective surgeries a week for trachs, PEGs, ostomy reversals, etc. But we do always have 1 OR on standby for traumas (although we do sometimes have 2 simultaneous cases) and our shock rooms can and have been used as ORs in a pinch if needed as well.

"Typical" day

surgeonSomeday

New Member

Blade28

Smurfette

Gargamel always had a thing for blondes.

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