- Joined
- Mar 12, 2009
- Messages
- 276
- Reaction score
- 1
What are the chances to match into a residency and pursue a career in trauma surgery as a DO? Also, would it be considered a general surgery residency?
D.O. Trauma Surgeon
- Thread starter tndoc12
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2010
- Messages
- 4,920
- Reaction score
- 43
Well, I've seen one and talked to one.
Anybody else have another anecdote? ;p
By the way, even though you will have guaranteed parking at the very front of the hospital as a trauma surgeon, it also means you will be on call all the time and the lifestyle sucks
Anybody else have another anecdote? ;p
By the way, even though you will have guaranteed parking at the very front of the hospital as a trauma surgeon, it also means you will be on call all the time and the lifestyle sucks
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 16, 2009
- Messages
- 95
- Reaction score
- 0
Do well in your classes and score high on the COMLEX and USMLE (which will give you more options) and you're chances are probably going to be good. As for it being considered general surgery, I don't believe it is because it's not primary care and not considered general surgery.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2004
- Messages
- 1,440
- Reaction score
- 11
Yes you can do it as a DO.
Yes it is a 1-2 year fellowship after a 5 year general surg residency.
Yes you are out of your mind for wanting that lifestyle.
Yes you will change your mind several times before 4th year so stop worrying about it now.
Yes it is a 1-2 year fellowship after a 5 year general surg residency.
Yes you are out of your mind for wanting that lifestyle.
Yes you will change your mind several times before 4th year so stop worrying about it now.
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,454
- Reaction score
- 39
+1
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2008
- Messages
- 107
- Reaction score
- 0
http://my.mmc.org/apps/asp/phys_dir/physicianDetail.asp?physicianID=8093
This guy is the head of trauma surgery at Maine Med.
It is possible to do anything with either degree.
This guy is the head of trauma surgery at Maine Med.
It is possible to do anything with either degree.
oh, ya and you could be a plastic surgeon as well: https://www.onlinemedsource.org/?SITE_ID=24
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2009
- Messages
- 37
- Reaction score
- 0
Trauma surgery sounds awesome at first glance. But I would imagine that the majority of "trauma cases" are handled by orthopedist that require immediate surgery at presentation to the ER minus penetrating wounds.
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2006
- Messages
- 1,237
- Reaction score
- 0
http://www.utmedicalcenter.org/FindaDoc.asp?Doctor=148
The guy above is at UT....yes, the same UT as in your avatar. He is a nice guy too.
http://www.utmedicalcenter.org/cms/...+and+Caregivers/Trauma+Medical+Staff/954.html
Above is a link showing the other surgeons at UT....click on their same to see more info about them.
http://www.cookcountytrauma.org/?p=05_Cook_County_Trauma_faculty
Above is the link for Cook County in Chicago, they have a DO trauma attending.
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,454
- Reaction score
- 39
I don't want to be a "downer" ... but do keep in mind that you will probably change fields you want to go into while in medical school AND do a little research into the lifestyle of a trauma surgeon before you dive head first. I know a woman who does it ... fantastic doctor, she saved a loved one's life, etc ... but I wouldn't work her schedule for a million dollars a year.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2008
- Messages
- 2,666
- Reaction score
- 35
nailed it. It sounds cool, but I think I would probably get my fill of trauma rotating around in a g-surg residency.
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2009
- Messages
- 1,061
- Reaction score
- 384
david ciraulo looks pissed. haha
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2008
- Messages
- 1,402
- Reaction score
- 38
Interestingly enough this guy is also a member of the SWAT team
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/l...it/article/I-SWAT1205_20091231-184410/314708/
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2008
- Messages
- 1,402
- Reaction score
- 38
Haha ya he seems to like things with adrenaline.
He also happens to be the chair of surgery at CCOM.
He also happens to be the chair of surgery at CCOM.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2009
- Messages
- 109
- Reaction score
- 13
I know two DO trauma surgeons working at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Fl.
They both went to NOVA.
I used to work with them. I have shadowed one of them. She tells me the lifestyle is wonderful. Business is mostly seasonal. They make a great deal of money whether their services are needed or not. And on call is not bad as you think.
The path to get there is long. General surgery residency then a special trauma residency. All and all they tell me it was worth it.
They both went to NOVA.
I used to work with them. I have shadowed one of them. She tells me the lifestyle is wonderful. Business is mostly seasonal. They make a great deal of money whether their services are needed or not. And on call is not bad as you think.
The path to get there is long. General surgery residency then a special trauma residency. All and all they tell me it was worth it.
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,454
- Reaction score
- 39
Ummmmm .... expound??
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Messages
- 226
- Reaction score
- 4
Two things in my personal experiences here, all MD's mind you, but residency is tied more to your scores on the USMLE than to your letters.
First, to the lifestyle part. They are "on" for 10 days a month. They are back-up and ICU for 10 days a month following each of their "on" days. They are off for 10 days a month.
Second, to the training part. One of our trauma surgeons (recently stopped doing trauma) never did a fellowship. He did his residency at the busiest level I knife and gun club in LA. His actual fellowship was oncology surgery, which he's doing now, but when he came here, they looked at his trauma ridden residency and asked him to play.
One of our trauma surgeons is also our regions only pediatric surgeon.
I would say the trauma experiences will depend entirely on state-law (trauma criteria) and geographic location. It's safe to say that Downtown LA is a bit more bloody with bullets etc. than our level II trauma center that is mostly car crashes and everything else occasionally. It's also the busiest level II trauma center in the country. Also, I would say in my experiences, ortho is involved in probably 1/4-1/3 of the cases, but sometimes they are only consulting because a guy tries to see if you can fold a human being like a taco around a mountain guard rail at 100 mph. So the trauma surgeon had the guts, and the ortho had the bones...there was much of each.
I'm glad for this discussion though, it was one that I was pondering as well. I would love to do Trauma or Plastics/Reconstructive stuff.
First, to the lifestyle part. They are "on" for 10 days a month. They are back-up and ICU for 10 days a month following each of their "on" days. They are off for 10 days a month.
Second, to the training part. One of our trauma surgeons (recently stopped doing trauma) never did a fellowship. He did his residency at the busiest level I knife and gun club in LA. His actual fellowship was oncology surgery, which he's doing now, but when he came here, they looked at his trauma ridden residency and asked him to play.
One of our trauma surgeons is also our regions only pediatric surgeon.
I would say the trauma experiences will depend entirely on state-law (trauma criteria) and geographic location. It's safe to say that Downtown LA is a bit more bloody with bullets etc. than our level II trauma center that is mostly car crashes and everything else occasionally. It's also the busiest level II trauma center in the country. Also, I would say in my experiences, ortho is involved in probably 1/4-1/3 of the cases, but sometimes they are only consulting because a guy tries to see if you can fold a human being like a taco around a mountain guard rail at 100 mph. So the trauma surgeon had the guts, and the ortho had the bones...there was much of each.
I'm glad for this discussion though, it was one that I was pondering as well. I would love to do Trauma or Plastics/Reconstructive stuff.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2008
- Messages
- 2,666
- Reaction score
- 35
Seasonal? Can you explain what that means? Accidents don't just start to happen during a certain time of year.
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2010
- Messages
- 24,342
- Reaction score
- 36,585
you know late august, when all the volvowillows and toyota trees go into full bloom. Car season.
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,454
- Reaction score
- 39
I worked in an ER for two years and they definitely did:
-X-mas = depression related issues, people falling off of roofs, etc
-St Paddy's day ... never seen an ER with so many drunk *****s handcuffed to beds, puking into a variety of plastic containers and swearing they did nothing
-Summer = boating accidents, people doing dumb stuff drunk, etc
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Messages
- 226
- Reaction score
- 4
+1
+ Street Vibrations in Reno (Enormous Motor Cycle Weekend) with 46 trauma criteria biker vs. pavement. 46-0 in 3 days. These are the bike crashes that aren't the bumps and bruises, takes at least a separation from bike to be "trauma"
+ Ski/Snowboard/Snowmobile Season - umm.. people vs. tree and ground...all categories apply.
+ Our summers are motorcycle (dirtbike) crashes. They are really bad when the season first opens, but these really are job security for us...
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 418
- Reaction score
- 1
I think the summer time is the busiest time, volunteering in Harlem, NY I seen stab and gun shot wounds as early as 12 pm. I have witnessed people just walk in holding their guts in and just say in a regular tone "I just been shot, fix me up", you will see drunks and junkies really abusing their bodies. I have seen people so drunk that the physician looked at me and said the medical books we read said he should be dead right now. A regular example 3 is the highest and the guy is a 8, old cold but alive.
Car accidents can happen anytime of the year but more during the winter(snow), summer happens more with kids.
Thinking about it I had lots of fun in the ER
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Messages
- 226
- Reaction score
- 4
Ohhh.. drunks... highest I've ever seen was a .7 and she was screaming from a pod away. I didn't actually see her result, but I heard her screams and the talk went through the whole ER when the result came back. I've seen functional .5's and there there are the ones going into DT's at a .25. Getting to a living level of .35 takes some serious practice, but we have $5 gallon vodka here... that's like 10 minutes of panhandling..that has a distinctly horrific smell..
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2003
- Messages
- 284
- Reaction score
- 4
The "hard", or should I say "more difficult" part is getting the general surgery residency. You can practice trauma surgery right out of residency. With more and more traumas being managed non-operatively, you will do a lot of critical care taking care of patients for the orthopedics and neurosurgery services.
Trauma/Critical Care fellowships are non-competitive and easily obtainable from either an MD or DO general surgery residency. Less than 60% of positions filled in the most recent match. There is now a trend toward the Trauma/Acute Care Surgery model which prepares the trainee for a hospitalist type practice.
Trauma/Critical Care fellowships are non-competitive and easily obtainable from either an MD or DO general surgery residency. Less than 60% of positions filled in the most recent match. There is now a trend toward the Trauma/Acute Care Surgery model which prepares the trainee for a hospitalist type practice.
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,454
- Reaction score
- 39
Wow.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2000
- Messages
- 39,952
- Reaction score
- 18,717
There are plenty of DOs doing trauma surgery.
Why? Its not a competitive fellowship, in either the osteo or allo programs, and not a competitive job market. See the surgery forum for multiple threads about the lifestyle, the pros and cons, etc.
My ex is a trauma surgeon and while he makes great money and does have 1 week per month of academic/research non-clinical duties (except trauma call), it sucks to be IN HOUSE taking trauma call every 3rd-6th night when you are over 40, or 50, and so on. He just took his first vacation in over 4 years since he felt that he could not burden his partners with extra call while he was gone.
But yeah, being a DO is not a stumbling block...as long as you have a pulse, you should be able to get into a trauma surgery fellowship (and it is true that many people doing trauma are not fellowship trained but in this day and age of increasing accountability, training and licensing, you should get as much as you can, while you can).
Why? Its not a competitive fellowship, in either the osteo or allo programs, and not a competitive job market. See the surgery forum for multiple threads about the lifestyle, the pros and cons, etc.
My ex is a trauma surgeon and while he makes great money and does have 1 week per month of academic/research non-clinical duties (except trauma call), it sucks to be IN HOUSE taking trauma call every 3rd-6th night when you are over 40, or 50, and so on. He just took his first vacation in over 4 years since he felt that he could not burden his partners with extra call while he was gone.
But yeah, being a DO is not a stumbling block...as long as you have a pulse, you should be able to get into a trauma surgery fellowship (and it is true that many people doing trauma are not fellowship trained but in this day and age of increasing accountability, training and licensing, you should get as much as you can, while you can).
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2008
- Messages
- 2,666
- Reaction score
- 35
Exactly..accidents happen all year round. It may be different types of accidents, but what I was saying was that trauma won't necessarily be occurring with less frequency because its a certain season. Maybe I misunderstood what the poster meant by business being "seasonal."
