title: Has the trauma surgeon become house staff for the surgical subspecialist?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The role of the trauma surgeon is perceived to be mostly supportive of other procedure-oriented specialties. We designed this study to characterize the surgical and nonsurgical responsibilities of the contemporary trauma surgeon.
  
  
  METHODS
  Trauma patients admitted to an urban academic level I trauma center were studied using trauma registry data for 2004.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The large majority of patients admitted to trauma service has mild single-system injuries to 1 or 2 anatomic regions. Most (57%) did not have injuries to the neck, chest, or abdomen. Head and extremity injuries were present in 45% and 46% of patients, respectively. Surgeries were performed by orthopedists in 28%, trauma surgeons in 11%, and neurosurgeons in 6% of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The contemporary trauma surgeon has little surgical opportunity and provides a disproportionate amount of nonsurgical care in support of consultant specialists. This is a major deterrent to general surgeon interest in trauma care and must be addressed as the acute-care surgeon evolves.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St. NW, Suite 4B-39, Washington, DC 20005, USA. David.J.Ciesla@Medstar.net <David.J.Ciesla@Medstar.net>
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ciesla
authors.forename: Ernest E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: C Clay
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Cothren
authors.forename: Jeffery L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Jon M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Burch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010819:Physician's Role; D012042:Registries; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014194:Traumatology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population