Emergency room physician vs trauma surgeon

The differences between emergency room physicians and trauma surgeons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an emergency room physician and a trauma surgeon. Additionally, a trauma surgeon has an average salary of $406,184, which is higher than the $160,275 average annual salary of an emergency room physician.

The top three skills for an emergency room physician include patients, emergency medicine and surgery. The most important skills for a trauma surgeon are critical care, patient care, and trauma surgery.

Emergency room physician vs trauma surgeon overview

	Emergency Room Physician	Trauma Surgeon
Yearly salary	$160,275	$406,184
Hourly rate	$77.06	$195.28
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	85,836	3,750
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 25%
Average age	48	49
Years of experience	6	6

What does an emergency room physician do?

An Emergency Room Physician provides medical treatment to patients requiring acute and life-saving care. They keep them alive so they can receive the proper treatments.

What does a trauma surgeon do?

Trauma surgeons attend to ER patients who fall into certain categories of medical conditions such as low blood pressure following a car accident or if emergency surgery is needed to prevent permanent damage or save their lives. They will assume responsibility for the patient's care if hospital admission is needed as well as follow-up care. Other duties of a trauma surgeon include evaluating, diagnosing, and stabilizing a patient with traumatic physical injury, treating patients with cuts, internal injuries, and bone fractures, and evaluating which injuries need medical intervention first.

Emergency room physician vs trauma surgeon salary

Emergency room physicians and trauma surgeons have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Emergency Room Physician	Trauma Surgeon
Average salary	$160,275	$406,184
Salary range	Between $74,000 And $342,000	Between $204,000 And $806,000
Highest paying City	Hartford, CT	Grand Forks, ND
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Minnesota
Best paying company	Calhoun Liberty Hospital	Trinity Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Professional

Differences between emergency room physician and trauma surgeon education

There are a few differences between an emergency room physician and a trauma surgeon in terms of educational background:

	Emergency Room Physician	Trauma Surgeon
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 25%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Virginia	Duke University

Emergency room physician vs trauma surgeon demographics

Here are the differences between emergency room physicians' and trauma surgeons' demographics:

	Emergency Room Physician	Trauma Surgeon
Average age	48	49
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 55.6% Female, 44.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 1.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 76.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between emergency room physician and trauma surgeon duties and responsibilities

Emergency room physician example responsibilities.

Lead surgeries on: hemorrhoid thrombectomy, abscess drainage, CPR, as well as complicated plastic surgeries due to injury.
Provide inpatient, outpatient and emergency care in a teaching hospital in different areas of internal medicine and surgery.
Assist attending physician in all aspects of medical care (diagnosis, delivery and minor surgery).
Schedule patients for surgeries, instruct them about post-operative care and answer questions regarding recovery and limitations after surgery.
Operate electrocardiogram (EKG) and other equipment to administer diagnostic test.
Educate patients about self-management of acute or chronic illnesses, tailoring instructions to patients' individual circumstances.

Trauma surgeon example responsibilities.

Manage all incoming medical records requests (ensuring office is within HIPPA guidelines).
Coordinate with patients and medical staff at civilian and military treatment facilities to schedule medical appointments and retrieve medical documentation.
Observe fracture plating, skin grafting, wind cleaning, amputation, and other Orthopaedic surgeries.

Emergency room physician vs trauma surgeon skills

Common emergency room physician skills

Patients, 29%
Emergency Medicine, 23%
Surgery, 5%
Acls, 4%
Patient Care, 4%
Medical Care, 4%

Common trauma surgeon skills

Critical Care, 44%
Patient Care, 29%
Trauma Surgery, 20%
Emergency Medicine, 3%
Private Practice, 2%
IV, 1%

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Emergency Room Physician
Emergency Room Physician vs Trauma Surgeon

Updated January 8, 2025

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