Qualifications of Surgeons on the Trauma Team

Qualifications of Surgeons on the Trauma Team 1. Basic to qualification for trauma care for any surgeon is board certification in a surgical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, the Advisory Board for Osteopathic Specialties, the Royal College of Physicians, the American Dental Association and Surgeons of Canada, or other appropriate foreign board. Many boards require a practice period. Such an individual may be included when recognition by major professional organizations has been received in their specialty. The board certification criteria apply to the general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and neurosurgeons. 2. Alternate criteria in lieu of board certification are as follows: a. A non-board-certified general surgeon must have completed a surgical residency program. b. He/she must be licensed to practice medicine. c. He/she must be approved by the hospital's credentialing committee for surgical privileges. d. The surgeon must meet all criteria established by the trauma director to serve on the trauma team. e. The surgeons’ experience in caring for the trauma patient must be tracked by the PI program. f. The TMD must attest to the surgeons’ experience and quality as part of the recurring granting of trauma team privileges. g. The TMD, using the trauma PI program, is responsible for determining each general surgeon's ability to participate on the trauma team. 3. The surgeon is expected to serve as the captain of the resuscitating team and is expected to be in the emergency department upon arrival of the seriously injured patient to make key decisions about the management of the trauma patient's care. The surgeon will coordinate all aspects of treatment, including resuscitation, operation, critical care, recuperation and rehabilitation (as appropriate in a Level I facility) and determine if the patient needs transport to a higher level of care. If transport is required, he/she is accountable for coordination of the process with the receiving physician at the receiving facility. If the patient is to be admitted to the Level I Trauma Center, the surgeon is the admitting physician and will coordinate the patient care while hospitalized. Guidelines must be written at the local level to determine which types of patients should be admitted to the Level I Trauma Centers or which patients should be considered for transfer to a higher level of care. General surgeons taking trauma call must have eight (8) hours of trauma specific continuing medical education over three years. This can be met within the 40-hour requirement by licensure. 4. The general surgery liaison, orthopedic liaison, and neurosurgery liaison must participate in a multi-disciplinary trauma committee and the PI process. Committee attendance at least fifty percent (50%) over a year's period of time.