Has the trauma surgeon become house staff for the surgical subspecialist?

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.