This is one specialty I never expected to experience- trauma surgery. I have never found myself one to particularly crave adrenaline or things that are really big and dramatic, and that’s what I imagined trauma surgery to be like. Lots of helicopters, ambulances, blood, gunshot wounds- that kind of stuff. And it was like that! But it also wasn’t.

For my trauma surgery rotation, my schedule was 12 hour days, 7 days on 7 days off. So I would work 7am-7pm for seven days straight, get a week off, then do 7pm-7am. This was definitely very hard for me, and I don’t think I would want a schedule like this in the future. Working 12 hour days is hard, not just on me but on my home life and my family. Don’t get me wrong, a week off was nice- but I think I would prefer to work less days in a row and get less days off in a row over this kind of schedule.

So, what kind of patients were on the trauma service? Anybody who was suffering injuries from an impact to their body. This included car accidents, crush injuries, falls, etc. So, we did see a few intense cases, but we also saw plenty of elderly women with broken hips from a ground level fall. The surgeon was also on call for general surgeries, so we took care of plenty of appendectomies and gallbladder removals as well.

During this rotation, my role was similar to other hospital rotations I have described. I would arrive around 6:30 to review overnight events on the patients I was assigned. Then, I would go check on my patients. I would present them at “table rounds”- which is basically when the whole team sits together and discusses the plan for all the patients that day. We would then round on the patients- the team consisted of the physician, a PA or NP, 1-2 residents, RN case managers, and students. After rounds, I would first assist in any scheduled surgeries that day. Then we would check on patients throughout the day and intake any patients that came in to the ER. If any traumas came in requiring surgery throughout the shift, we would attend to those as soon as they arrived.

I was surprised to enjoy this rotation as much as I did! The team worked really well together, and I learned so much about medicine. So many complications can come from a trauma that you don’t necessarily think of as “trauma.” Things like abdominal compartment syndrome, infection, abscesses in situ, etc. It was a great experience and I would recommend it to any future provider!